Meteor Crater
Meteor Crater | |
---|---|
Impact crater/structure | |
Confidence | Confirmed[1] |
Diameter | 0.737 miles (1.186 km) |
Depth | 560 feet (170 m) |
Rise | 148 feet (45 m) |
Impactor diameter | 160 feet (50 m) |
Age | 50,000 years |
Exposed | Yes |
Drilled | Yes |
Bolide type | Iron meteorite |
Location | |
Location | Coconino County |
Coordinates | 35°01′41″N 111°01′24″W / 35.02806°N 111.02333°W |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
Access | Interstate 40 |
Designated | November 1967 |
Meteor Crater or Barringer Crater is an impact crater about 37 mi (60 km) east of Flagstaff and 18 mi (29 km) west of Winslow in the desert of northern Arizona, United States. The site had several earlier names, and fragments of the meteorite are officially called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite, after the adjacent Canyon Diablo.[2]
Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of 5,640 ft (1,719 m) above sea level.[3] It is about 3,900 ft (1,200 m) in diameter, some 560 ft (170 m) deep, and is surrounded by a rim that rises 148 ft (45 m) above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled with 690–790 ft (210–240 m) of rubble lying above crater bedrock.[1] One of the features of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by existing regional jointing (cracks) in the strata at the impact site.[4]
Despite an attempt to make the crater a public landmark,[5] the crater remains privately owned by the Barringer family to the present day through their Barringer Crater Company. The Lunar and Planetary Institute, the American Museum of Natural History, and other science institutes proclaim it to be the "best-preserved meteorite crater on Earth".[6][7][8] It was designated a National Natural Landmark in November 1967.[9]
Formation
The crater was created about 50,000 years ago during the
The object that excavated the crater was a nickel-iron meteorite about 160 ft (50 m) across. The speed of the impact has been a subject of some debate. Modeling initially suggested that the meteorite struck at up to 45,000 mph (20 km/s), but more recent research suggests the impact was substantially slower, at 29,000 mph (12.8 km/s). About half of the impactor's bulk is believed to have been vaporized during its descent through the atmosphere.[14] Impact energy has been estimated at 10 megatons TNTe. The meteorite was mostly vaporized upon impact, leaving few remains in the crater.[15]
Since the crater's formation, the rim is thought to have lost 50–65 ft (15–20 m) of height at the rim crest as a result of natural erosion. Similarly, the basin of the crater is thought to have roughly 100 ft (30 m) of additional postimpact sedimentation from lake sediments and alluvium.[16] Very few remaining craters are visible on Earth, since many have been erased by erosive geological processes. The relatively young age of Meteor Crater, paired with the dry Arizona climate, has allowed this crater to remain comparatively unchanged since its formation. The lack of erosion that preserved the crater's shape greatly accelerated its groundbreaking recognition as an impact crater from a natural celestial body.[17]
Discovery and investigation
Meteor Crater came to the attention of scientists after American settlers encountered it in the 19th century. The crater was given several early names, including "Coon Mountain", "Coon Butte", "Crater Mountain", "Meteor Mountain," and "Meteor Crater."[18][19][20] Daniel M. Barringer was one of the first people to suggest that the crater was produced by a meteorite impact, with the Barringer family filing mining claims and purchasing it and its surroundings in the early 20th century.[21][22] This led to the crater also being known as "Barringer Crater."[23][24] Meteorites from the area are called Canyon Diablo meteorites, after Canyon Diablo, Arizona, which was the closest community to the crater in the late 19th century. The canyon also crosses the strewn field, where meteorites from the crater-forming event are found. The crater had initially been ascribed to the actions of a volcanic steam explosion, because the San Francisco volcanic field lies only about 40 mi (64 km) to the West.[25]
Albert E. Foote
In 1891, mineralogist Albert E. Foote presented the first scientific paper about the meteorites of Northern Arizona.[26][27] Several years earlier, Foote had received an iron rock for analysis from a railroad executive. Foote immediately recognized the rock as a meteorite and led an expedition to search and retrieve additional meteorite samples. The team collected samples ranging from small fragments to over 600 lb (270 kg). Foote identified several minerals in the meteorites, including microscopic diamonds. His paper to the Association for the Advancement of Science provided the first geological description of Meteor Crater to a scientific community.[28]
Grove Karl Gilbert
In November 1891,
Daniel M. Barringer
In 1903, mining engineer and businessman Daniel M. Barringer suggested that the crater had been produced by the impact of a large iron meteorite.[31] Barringer's company, the Standard Iron Company, staked a mining claim on the land and received a land patent signed by Theodore Roosevelt for 640 acres (1 sq mi, 260 ha) around the center of the crater in 1903.[32][33][22]
Barringer had amassed a small fortune as an investor in the successful Commonwealth Mine in Pearce, Cochise County, Arizona. He drew up ambitious plans for the metal he believed was buried under the crater's floor.[34] He estimated from the size of the crater that the meteorite had a mass of 100 million tons.[29] Iron ore of the type found at the crater was valued at the time at US$125/ton, so Barringer was searching for a lode he believed to be worth more than a billion 1903 dollars.[34] "By 1928, Barringer had sunk the majority of his fortune into the crater – $500,000, or roughly $7 million in 2017 dollars."[35]
Barringer's arguments were met with skepticism. At the time, the craters visible on the Moon were thought to be volcanic, and no impact craters were known. He persisted and sought to bolster his theory by locating the remains of the meteorite. At the time of discovery, the surrounding plains were covered with about 30 tons of large, oxidized iron meteorite fragments. This led Barringer to believe that the bulk of the impactor could still be found under the crater floor. Impact physics was poorly understood at the time, and Barringer was unaware that most of the meteorite vaporized on impact. He spent 27 years trying to locate a large deposit of meteoric iron, and drilled to a depth of 1,375 ft (419 m), but no significant deposit was ever found.[36][self-published source?]
Barringer was politically well-connected. In 1906, at his request, President Roosevelt authorized the establishment of a post office unconventionally named "Meteor," located at Sunshine, a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, 6 mi north of the crater.[37] The Meteor post office closed on April 15, 1912, due to disuse.
In 1929, astronomer F.R. Moulton was employed by the Barringer Crater Company to investigate the physics of the impact event. Moulton concluded that the impactor likely weighed as little as 300,000 tonnes, and that the impact of such a body would have generated enough heat to vaporize the impactor instantly.[38][39][40] Daniel M. Barringer died just ten days after the publication of Moulton's second report.
By this time, "the great weight of scientific opinion had swung around to the accuracy of the impact hypothesis ... Apparently an idea, too radical and new for acceptance in 1905, no matter how logical, had gradually grown respectable during the intervening 20 years."[41]
Harvey H. Nininger
Nininger believed that the crater should be a national monument and, in 1948, he successfully petitioned the American Astronomical Society to pass a motion in support of nationalizing the crater by making "the unauthorized - and false - claim that the [Barringers] would be receptive to a fair purchase for the crater."[5] By this time, mining activity at the crater had ceased, and the Barringers were in the process of planning a tourist attraction on the rim of the crater. Nininger was operating the American Meteorite Museum nearby, on Route 66, at the time. Nininger hoped that a public museum could be built on the crater's rim, and that the project might lead to the founding of a federal institute of meteorite research.[5] Offended by Nininger's attempt to nationalize the crater, the Barringer family promptly terminated his exploration rights and ability to conduct further fieldwork at the crater.[5] A few years later, in 1953, the Standard Iron Company was renamed the "Barringer Crater Company," and a private museum was constructed on the crater rim.[46]
Eugene M. Shoemaker
Geologists used the nuclear detonation that created the
Geology
The impact created an inverted stratigraphy, so that the layers immediately exterior to the rim are stacked in the reverse order to which they normally occur; the impact overturned and inverted the layers to a distance of 1–2 km outward from the crater's edge.[51][52] Specifically, climbing the rim of the crater from outside, one finds:
- Coconino Sandstone (sandstone formed 265 million years ago) nearest the top of the rim
- Toroweap Formation (limestone formed 255 million years ago)
- Kaibab Formation (dolostoneformed 250 million years ago)
- Moenkopi Formation (mudstone formed 245 million years ago) nearest the outer foot of the rim
Soils around the crater are brown, slightly to moderately alkaline, gravelly or stony loam of the Winona series; on the crater rim and in the crater itself, the Winona is mapped in a complex association with rock outcrop.[53]
Climate
Climate data for Meteor Crater, Arizona (5535ft or 1687m), 1991–2020 normals | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 47.2 (8.4) |
53.1 (11.7) |
61.7 (16.5) |
68.4 (20.2) |
76.7 (24.8) |
88.3 (31.3) |
90.8 (32.7) |
88.0 (31.1) |
81.7 (27.6) |
70.2 (21.2) |
56.8 (13.8) |
46.8 (8.2) |
69.1 (20.6) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 36.2 (2.3) |
40.6 (4.8) |
47.7 (8.7) |
54.1 (12.3) |
61.3 (16.3) |
72.3 (22.4) |
76.0 (24.4) |
74.4 (23.6) |
68.4 (20.2) |
56.7 (13.7) |
44.2 (6.8) |
35.1 (1.7) |
55.6 (13.1) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.1 (−3.8) |
28.1 (−2.2) |
33.7 (0.9) |
39.7 (4.3) |
45.9 (7.7) |
56.2 (13.4) |
61.2 (16.2) |
60.7 (15.9) |
55.0 (12.8) |
43.1 (6.2) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
23.4 (−4.8) |
42.0 (5.5) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.13 (29) |
1.02 (26) |
0.49 (12) |
0.69 (18) |
0.49 (12) |
0.29 (7.4) |
1.88 (48) |
2.39 (61) |
1.65 (42) |
0.95 (24) |
0.68 (17) |
0.64 (16) |
12.3 (312.4) |
Source: NOAA[54] |
Recent history
During the 1960s and 1970s,
On August 8, 1964, two commercial pilots in a Cessna 150 flew low over the crater. After crossing the rim, they could not maintain level flight. The pilot attempted to circle in the crater to climb over the rim. During the attempted climb out, the aircraft stalled, crashed, and caught fire. The plane is commonly reported to have run out of fuel, but this is incorrect. Both occupants were severely injured, but survived.[59] A small portion of the wreckage not removed from the crash site remains visible.[60]
In 2006, a project called METCRAX (for METeor CRAter eXperiment) investigated "the diurnal buildup and breakdown of basin temperature inversions or cold-air pools and the associated physical and dynamical processes accounting for their evolving structure and morphology."[61][62]
Tourist attraction
Meteor Crater is a popular tourist destination with roughly 270,000 visitors per year.
See also
- Barringer Medal
- List of impact craters on Earth
- Elugelab – a smaller-volume nuclear blast crater, despite being created by an object with an almost identical estimated energy release as the Barringer event, 10.4 megatons.
References
- ^ a b "Barringer". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
- ^ La Pas, L. (1943). "Remarks on four notes recently published by C. C. Wylie", Popular Astronomy, vol. 51, p. 341
- ISBN 978-1467116183.
- ^ Shoemaker, Eugene M.; Susan W. Kieffer (1979). Guidebook to the Geology of Meteor Crater, Arizona. Tempe, Arizona: Center for Meteorite Studies, Arizona State University. p. 45.
- ^ .
- ^ "LPI Resources". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Author Ross Hall of Meteorites". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Meteor Crater". Meteor Crater. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
- ^ "Barringer Meteor Crater". US Dept of Interior, National Park Service. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- Bibcode:1995Metic..30Q.567R.
- .
- .
- ^ Kring, David. "Barringer Meteor Crater and Its Environment". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- S2CID 2126679.
- ^ Schaber, Gerald G. "The U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeology – A Chronology of Activities from Conception through the End of Project Apollo (1960–1973)", 2005, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1190. (PDF)
- .
- ^ "Meteorite Crater – The shape of the land, Forces and changes, Spotlight on famous forms, For More Information". scienceclarified.com.
- .
- ^ Guild, Frank Nelson (1910). The Mineralogy of Arizona. The Chemical Publishing Co. – via Google Books.
- .
- ^ Grieve, R.A.F. (1990) "Impact Cratering on the Earth", Scientific American, 262 (4), 66–73.
- ^ .
- ^ "Fascinating Science & Unique History". The Barringer Crater Company. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
The general public knows his discovery as 'Meteor Crater'; its proper scientific name, as determined by the Meteoritical Society, is The Barringer Meteorite Crater.
- ^ "Barringer Meteor Crater and Its Environmental Effects". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
Footnote: The crater has been known by several names. Before its impact origin was appreciated, the crater was called Coon Mountain or Coon Butte. Later it was called Meteor Crater, which is the popular or common name used today. However, the name recognized by the Meteoritical Society, composed in part of professional geologists who study impact craters, is the Barringer Meteorite Crater, in recognition of the work of Daniel Moreau Barringer who championed an impact origin for the crater.
- ISBN 978-1862391949– via Google Books.
- ^ Foote, A. E. (1891). "A new locality for meteoric iron, with a preliminary notice of the discovery of diamonds in the iron". Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 40: 279–283.
- S2CID 131090443.
- ^ a b Kring, David (2007). Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater. Houston, Texas: Lunar and Planetary Institute.
- ^ a b "Crater History: Investigating a Mystery". The Barringer Crater Company. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ISBN 0520056515.
- ^ Barringer, Daniel Moreau (1905). "Coon Mountain and its crater". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 57: 861–886. From p. 885: "That this great hole in the upper strata of the Aubrey formation was made at the instant of time when the meteor fell upon this exact spot. Having proved these facts, the conclusion is unavoidable that this hole, which as we have seen cannot have been produced by a volcano or by a steam explosion, was produced by the impact of the meteor, […] "
- ^ ISBN 1862390967.
- ISBN 978-1862391949.
- ^ a b Southgate, Nancy; Barringer, Felicity (2002). A Grand Obsession: Daniel Moreau and His Crater. Barringer Crater Co.
- ^ "How Meteor Crater swallowed a fortune and strengthened a family". October 25, 1917. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- Bibcode:1964mcs..book.....F.
- ISBN 978-0816509683.
- ^ Moulton, F. R. (August 24, 1929). Report on the Meteor Crater – I. Philadelphia: Barringer Crater Company.
- ^ Moulton, F. R. (November 20, 1929). Report on the Meteor Crater – II. Philadelphia: Barringer Crater Company.
- S2CID 140725009.
- .
- ASIN B001O84HN8.
- OCLC 570546.
- ISBN 978-0910096027.
- S2CID 54596927.
- ^ "A Company That Started With Just a Hole in the Arizona Desert". April 15, 1992. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ Shoemaker, Eugene M. (1987). "Meteor Crater, Arizona", Geological Society of America Centennial Field Guide – Rocky Mountain Section.
- ISBN 978-0691113258.
- ^ Shoemaker, Eugene (1974). Guidebook to the geology of Meteor Crater, Arizona. Tempe: Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University. pp. 1–71.
- ^ "Keyah Math – Numerical Solutions for Culturally Diverse Geology". keyah.asu.edu.
- ^ Kring, David (2007). Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona. Houston, Texas: Lunar and Planetary Institute.
- ^ "Basic Stratigraphy of Barringer Meteor Crater". Department of Planetary Science, University of Arizona. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ "Interactive Map". Web Soil Survey. United States Department of Agriculture— Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Meteor Crater, Arizona 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "Apollo Lunar Training". nau.edu.
- ^ Phinney, William (2015). Science Training History of the Apollo Astronauts. NASA SP -2015-626. pp. 180, 187, 193, 220, 222, 224, 233–34, 238, 245.
- ^ "Training". Lunar and Planetary Institute. 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Astronauts descending into Meteor Crater in Winslow Arizona". USGS. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Harro Ranter. "ASN Aircraft accident 08-AUG-1964 Cessna 150 N6050T". aviation-safety.net.
- ^ Plane Crash At Meteor Crater Revisited, September 1, 2008 Meteorite-times.com
- ^ "University of Utah METCRAX page". Archived from the original on 2012-04-23.
- ^ "METCRAX". utah.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-16. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ^ "Meteor Crater inside and out | Astronomy Magazine".
- ^ "General 1".
- ^ D. A. Kring, 2017, Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona (aka Meteor Crater), Second edition, Lunar and Planetary Institute (Contribution No. 2040), Houston, 272p.
- ^ D. A. Kring, C. A. Looper, Z. A. Ney, and B. A. Janoiko, with foreword by G. Griffin, 2020, Training for Lunar Surface Operations (p. 12), Lunar and Planetary Institute (Contribution No. 2576), Houston, 40p. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kring/lunar_exploration/Artemis-Major-Skills-Training_DV1_2_w-appendix.pdf
- ^ N. F. Davis, 2016, Images of America: Meteor Crater, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, 127p.
- ^ "Meteor Crater". Meteor Crater. Retrieved 2022-6-24.
- ^ "admissions – Meteor Crater". Meteor Crater. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
External links
- Barringer Crater official site
- Meteor Crater Visitor Center – official site
- USGS Meteor Crater Sample Collection – historical documents, interactive map and sample requests
- Geographic data related to Meteor Crater at OpenStreetMap
- Impact Meteor Crater Viewer Google Maps Page with Locations of Meteor Craters around the world
- CNN: New computer analysis shows that the meteor may have been traveling more slowly than previously thought
- Computer generated movie based on satellite imagery and topography data
- Aerial Exploration of the Barringer Structure
- Geologic Map of the Eastern Quarter of the Flagstaff 30ʹ x 60ʹ Quadrangle, Coconino County, Northern Arizona United States Geological Survey
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Meteor Crater
- Herman Leroy Fairchild: An Early Promoter and Defender of Meteorite Impact Cratering Archived 2021-01-13 at the Wayback Machine – includes details of early investigations into Meteor Crater
- 3 Dimensional stereoscopic image pair of the Barringer Crater by Volkan Yuksel (arranged for crossed-eye viewing technique)
- Guidebook to the Geology of Barringer Meteorite Crater, Arizona (a.k.a. Meteor Crater)
- "Mine Shaft is Sunk to Solve Meteor Mystery" Popular Mechanics, January 1930
- Milwaukee Sentinel – Dec 14, 1941 "Metal in Arizona Meteorite may solve defense problem"[permanent dead link] US Govt. considered mining nickel from the crater for the war effort.