Meteor Crater, Arizona

The first stop on what I’m calling our California Wine Country Tour was not in California!  We only got as far as Winslow, AZ, the first day, and the campground we stopped at was not far from a national landmark, Meteor Crater.  It is the best preserved and first proven meteorite impact site on earth.

High Vantage Point

About 50,000 years ago, well before man walked the earth, a meteor ended its 500 million years long travels thru space abruptly when it crashed into the earth.    Traveling at about 26,000 mph, it passed thru earth’s atmosphere and struck the earth here in what was to become northern Arizona, with a force greater than 20 million tons of TNT.

Looking to the Crater Floor

The impact pulverized much of the rocky terrain that it struck, and left a crater nearly a mile across and more than 550 feet deep.  I found it amazing how almost perfectly round it is – just like all the cartoons and animated descriptions picture it!

Up the Crater Wall

Just to give you a bit of perspective about the size, 20 football fields could fit on the crater floor, and over 2 million fans could watch from the crater walls!  A true Super Bowl, if you’ll pardon my pun!

Width of the Crater

The floor of the crater topographically so closely resembles the surface of the moon, NASA made it an official training site for the Apollo astronauts.  It used to be open to the public, but no longer is.

What’s left of the Meteor

The original size of the meteor was believed to have been 450 meters – approximately 1350 feet.  This piece is what is left of that monster space rock.  I didn’t measure it exactly, but it looked to be about 3 feet across at its widest point.  Truly and amazing site, and I’m glad I have finally gotten to see it!

Enjoy!