Meteor Crater, Arizona

Meteor Crater, also known as Barringer Crater, was created by an impact approximately 40,000 years ago. The crater is located west of Flagstaff, Arizona and measures about 1200 m across and 170 m deep. The metallic impactor is a coarse octahedrite called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite. In orbit, the meteor is estimated to have been about 50 m in diameter and 300,000 tonnes in mass. About half was lost in transit through the atmosphere before it impacted the Earth's surface. Canyon Diablo Meteorite is used as a standard for sulfur isotope studies in the Geological Sciences.

©2008 A. Argast