University professor and geologist Petr Rajlich, of the Museum of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, is a researcher into the possible "cosmic" origins of the basin:
"The traditional explanation for the structure known as the Czech massif (basin) is that it was created through plate tectonics, that means through the collision of several 'micro-plates' around 380 to 320 million years ago. That explanation was first published in 1992 or '93."
Some experts are starting to support the theory that the fall of a giant meteorite some 2 billion years ago may have created the Czech basin, surrounded by mountain ranges, reminding of a crater and easily detectable from high altitudes, writes the weekly Tyden out today. Up to recently, the Czech basin's formation has been ascribed to plate tectonics.
"The plate tectonics, including the earth crust movements, became a geological religion of the past century. This has slightly overshadowed the fact that the Earth is also a part of space" - Petr Rajlich, a university teacher and geologist from the South Bohemian museum in Ceske Budejovice.