Meteor Crater: A mind-blowing ‘Crash Site’ out in the Desert

I got to see a Meteor Crater! Have you seen one yet? If not, here’s a sneak peek. 😉

Ever since I’d heard about this Meteor Crater in Arizona, I’d been curious about it. I wondered if I’d ever be able to go see it. This crater lies in the middle of some desertland in the American Southwest but if YOU need an excuse to go see it, let me tell you that it’s just a little over an hour away from Sedona, and on the way to Petrified Forest National Park if you’re traveling from the west. 😉

We squeezed in a trip to Meteor Crater on our way to the National Park in eastern Arizona. As we drove towards it, for ‘miles’ we saw nothing. The land was flat to a fault and the sky had turned grey and dark signaling a storm. The forecast showed no rain but I was worried there would be a little shower and we that we would not be able to go out to the crater’s viewpoints. (And there was no coming back, here.) Thankfully the weather stayed that way till we were done seeing the crater. And the persisting grey clouds only added to the mystique of the place.

How this Meteor Crater came into being

Arizona’s Meteor Crater is a large bowl-like cavity that is close to a mile in width and 550 meters in depth. It is said to be one of the most well-preserved impact craters on the face of the earth. A look into its details — the sheer size, the speed at which the meteorite crashed and the signs of its impact — are mindblowing!

This impact crater is believed to have been created a little over 60,000 years ago, when an approximately 150m wide meteorite hit the earth at what must have been a speed of 26,000 miles per hour.

From studying the heights on the rim and examining the floor of the crater, it has been learned that the meteorite came from the northeastern sky, and that it was an iron-nickel meteorite.

This Meteor Crater is also called the Barringer Crater, named after Daniel Moreau Barringer, a mining engineer from Philadelphia. Barringer had business interests in the area but having discovered the crater, got very interested in the land here. He believed it to be a meteor impact crater and went on to acquire mining claims and ownership of the area so as to be able to study the crater.

In the years that ensued, it has been learned that a good part of the iron-nickel meteorite burned on its way in and more of it was lost in the vaporization and melting that took place on impact. And while some fragments got lodged below the crater, some of them were thrown around in the area.

Some fun facts (about this crater’s size):

• This impact crater can accommodate 20 football games being played simultaneously on its floor. And more than 2 million people could be seated on its slopes.
• As for its depth, it can hold a 60-floor building in here.
• Also, if the Washington Monument were to be put in here, the top of the structure would be at eye-level with those on the crater rim. 

Things to know before you go

Meteor Crater is near Winslow, AZ, and is around  —— miles away from the city of Sedona

It lies on private property so it is still not a national monument. However, it is said to have been given the status of Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior.

To be able to see the crater, you will have to go through Barringer Space Museum run by the family-owned company.

A ticket to the museum allows you to look around the museum, watch a short informational film, see the crater, do a guided hike along the crater rim and even enjoy a 4D ride simulating a trip to the asteroid belt. (It’s fun if you don’t mind a bit of movement. It’s not really extreme though. ) 

Other Craters to trip to —

Crater Lake in Oregon
Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley National Park
Halema‘uma‘u Crater on Big Island, HI

You might also like :

Lithic Landscapes
Natural Wonders
Volcanic Sites

Linking to —
Pictorial Tuesday
My Corner of the World

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