The transport mechanism of suevite parti- cles during impact cratering is poorly under- stood and was studied at the 15 Ma Ries crater in southern Germany. Two emplace- ment modes of suevite deposits are generally discussed: (1) fallback of plume material into the crater and its periphery upon collapse of an ejecta plume; and (2) horizontal transport of ejected material, akin to emplacement of pyroclastic deposits erupting from volcanic centers. In order to differentiate between the two emplacement modes of suevite deposition, we analyzed the shape fabrics of suevite components from two localities out- side the Ries crater by fishape-fabric ellipsoids to measured shape-fabric ellipses and by applying high-resolution, X-ray- computed tomography to analyze the three- dimensional shape and orientation of the suevite particles. We show that the preferred orientation of long axes of elongate particles is disposed either radially or concentrically with respect to the crater center. Our obser- vations indicate that suevite material was not only derived from an ejecta plume, but was transported by lateral fl ow under viscous conditions upon fallback. This fl ow regime resembles that known from pyroclastic fl ows.