Meteor Crater, Arizona, USA
Meteor Crater in Arizona. The visitor's center is at the top of the image. Note vehicles in the parking lot for scale.
USGS
January 25, 2019
| Credit | Credit: USGS National Map Data Download and Visualization Services. Caption by Robert Simmon. |
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Meteor Crater (also known as Barringer Crater) on Earth is only 50,000 years old. Even so, it’s unusually well preserved in the arid climate of the Colorado Plateau.
Meteor Crater formed from the impact of an iron-nickel asteroid about 46 meters (150 feet) across. Most of the asteroid melted or vaporized on impact. The collision initially formed a crater over 1,200 meters (4,000) feet across and 210 meters (700 feet) deep. Subsequent erosion has partially filled the crater, which is now only 150 meters (550 feet) deep. Layers of exposed limestone and sandstone are visible just beneath the crater rim, as are large stone blocks excavated by the impact.
Read More: NASA Earth Observatory, "Fresh Craters on the Moon and Earth"
