Binary metal oxides possessing the fluorite-type crystal structure are amongst the most radiation tolerant materials. Such a crucial property led to the early use of uranium dioxide as nuclear fuel. Whilst radiation-induced structural modifications due to low-energy ions, i.e. in the nuclear stopping regime, were extensively investigated, specific irradiation effects due to electronic stopping of penetrating ions are still much debated. This work focuses on the radiation stability of a fluorite-type canonical system - namely urania single crystals - irradiated with high-energy heavy ions. Several analytical techniques, which probe the material at various depth scales, were used (e.g. RBS in the channelling mode, XRD, AFM) to gain information on the nature of the created damage (depth distribution, disordering kinetics, occurrence of structural and micro-structural modifications) at fluences ranging from the formation of isolated ion tracks up to complete surface recovery. Damage formation is interpreted in terms of the huge electronic excitations created in the wake of the ion's path. The melting of the material in the core of tracks, via a thermal spike mechanism, leads to the creation of large hillocks at the surface of the crystals. The overlapping of ion tracks at high fluence induces a severe transformation of the microstructure of single crystals. The formation of nanometer-sized domains slightly disoriented from the main crystallographic direction occurs, with a mean size decreasing with increasing irradiation fluence.