| What record was broken? |
World’s First Identified Impact Crater! Originally, scientists dismissed that this could be an impact crater because they couldn’t find a giant meteorite underneath the surface. Turns out, it got vaporized on impact! |
| What makes it wonderful? |
What an incredible reminder of the power of the cosmos! 50,000 years ago, this 150-foot, 300,000-ton meteorite made its way across incomprehensible distances to sucker-punch the Earth right in its Winslow with the force of 150 atomic bombs!
The force upended the rock strata, sending sandstone buried for 265 million years hurling into the air and across the landscape! Any of the poor mammoths wandering the plains nearby would have been hurled for miles or incinerated on the spot!
What’s really unique about this crater is that climate change actually helped preserve it. As Arizona dried out, there was less rain to erode the sides of the crater, so while it isn’t quite as deep as it was originally, it’s still a very impressive crater to gaze upon! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? |
HERE’S HOW:
|
| Where is this place? |
Interstate 40, Exit 233
Winslow, AZ 86047
From Flagstaff: ~44mi (71km) — 0.8hrs
From Phoenix: ~186mi (300km) — 3.1hrs
From Tucson: ~304mi (490km) — 5.1hrs
From Yuma: ~363mi (585km) — 6.1hrs |
| When should I go? |
The Meteor Crater is open daily from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day, and from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM the rest of the year! |
|
