Canyon Diablo Meteorites

The Canyon Diablo Meteorite comes from the plains around the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, 35 miles east of Flagstaff. The meteorite is named after the nearest landmark, which is the winding, dry, Canyon Diablo which is located three miles west of the impact site. Canyon Diablo Meteorites are among the most historically significant meteorites available to collectors. Made of nickel-iron with inclusions of graphite and other minerals they are classified as Coarse Octahedrite Iron Meteorites. The smaller fragments show the effects of being torn apart by the tremendous crater-forming explosion. Thin sharp edges and twisted metal are typical features of the meteorites from Meteor Crater. Hunting meteorites near Meteor Crater has been banned for a long time now.

Meteor crater was formed approximately 49,000 years ago when a huge iron-nickel meteorite, most likely a break off piece of an asteroid, streaked through the Northern Arizona sky, impacting in the desert plains and leaving a crater 4000 feet across and 700 feet deep. The meteorite is estimated to have been about 160 feet across and weighing several hundred thousand tons. The earth was struck with an explosive force in excess of 20 million tons of Dynamite.

Settlers discovered meteor crater in the 1870s. It was at first thought to be a volcanic formation. In the early 1900s the theory was given that Meteor Crater was caused by a meteorite impact. Daniel Moreau Barringer believed that a huge meteorite weighing millions of tons must be buried below the floor of the crater. A mining claim was filed and drilling operations began in 1905 in search of the meteorite. Drilling continued until 1929 when it was determined that there was no meteorite to be found. A meteorite of this size, moving at the speed required to create such a crater in the Arizona plains, would have generated enough energy and heat to vaporize most of the meteorite.