Meteor Crater
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Just eighteen miles west of Winslow and thirty seven miles east of Flagstaff is Meteor Crafter. We stopped by here on our way to Williams. This is the best preserved impact crater on the planet, and Taylor had always wanted to take Michelle here but had never been in the area. So we took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself to us.
Meteor Crater, otherwise known as Barringer Crater, is a Natural Landmark located just outside Winslow, Arizona along Interstate 40. It was discovered in the 19th century and was assumed to have been created through the actions of the volcanism of the nearby Sunset Crater outside of Flagstaff. In 1903, Daniel Barringer, a mining engineer, came along and suggested it was created from the impact of a meteorite. The meteor hypothesis was later confirmed by Eugene Shoemaker, a geologist and one of the founders of the planetary science field, in 1960 after discovering coesite and stishovite minerals at the crater.
Meteor Crater is just a few miles south of Interstate 40, down the aptly named Meteor Crater Road. The drive is quick and full of periodic signs featuring puns about the distance to impact and the speed of the cars relative to the speed of a meteor. Taylor’s favorite part of the drive was actually coming upon the crater from afar. As we neared the crater we could easily see the sides of the crater rise up from the surface of the plateau around it.
Today, the crater is a Natural Landmark, and not to be confused with a National Monument. A National Monument is land that is protected and owned by the federal government while a Natural Landmark is privately owned and the owner has made an agreement to preserve the site. Meteor Crater is privately owned by the Barringer Crater Company. At the crater, visitors can visit the museum and see the crater from the various viewpoints.
At the entrance to the museum and outdoor viewpoints is the largest surviving fragment of the meteor that created the crater. The Holsinger meteorite sits upon a pedestal and weighs 1,409 pounds. It’s awesome to see the largest part of the meteor, but it seemed like a poor decision not to have the fragment behind glass and just open to the public. Although it will take a while to completely wear away, the constant touching from visitors is wearing down the meteor.
The museum is small but very informative. There’s plenty of information about meteorites and their composition. There is also a section about future Near Earth Asteroids and when they will be passing close to the planet. In one area, visitors can read about impacts on the moon and even take a photo as if they were standing in the middle of the Meteor Crater.
One interesting area shows the original sketches from Daniel Barringer of the crater and the supposed location of the meteorite. Next to it is the actual cross-section of the crater. Barringer was pretty close with his original assessment of the impact. In addition to the museum there are guided tours as well, but we decided to not wait around for one to start.
As informative as the museum is, the main reason to come is the outdoor viewing areas. From here visitors can take in the entire massive crater for themselves. Up the hill is the Moon Mountain Telescope that offers the highest view of the crater. From this point is a great view of the crater from the top of the rim.
Further down in the side of the crater is a platform with various fixed view telescopes. These show off different historical parts of the crater such as the drilling points. In the center of the crater is the main shaft and a cutout of a 6ft tall astronaut for scale. From this platform there is a great unobstructed view of the crater, too.
Off to the side of the main viewing platform is a secondary viewing area. Here is another great view of the crater but from a slightly lower point.
All along the path to the viewpoints are rocks that have had their outer layers melted from the heat of the impact.
On the outside of the museum and visitors center is the gift shop and cafe. Just outside the cafe is a small stand with the Basket Meteorite. On the outside visitors can take pictures with an astronaut and an actual training capsule from the Apollo program.
The Meteor Crater is a fantastic place to visit and learn about the power of nature and stellar objects. It’s a quick drive off the I-40 and worth a short detour from any trip.
Google Maps Link: Meteor Crater
