The crash of a meteorite produces shock metamorphic rocks in the form of impact melts.

During the initial stages of an impact event at typical cosmic encounter velocities, postshock temperatures >2000°C are produced.

These postshock temperatures are far above the normal melting points of the target objects and their constituent materials. As a result, when the shock wave has passed and the pressure returns to normal, spontaneous and complete melting occurs almost instantaneously. The shock waves that have melted the target also provide kinetic energy to accelerate the newly formed melt.

The resulting rock is an impact melt breccia (or meltmatrix breccia) containing clastic debris mixed with close-by materials in an igneous matrix of the impact melt.

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