A Spectacular Celestial Collision EarthCache
A Spectacular Celestial Collision
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For this EarthCache do the
self-guided tour and visit the Thomas Rodman Museum and
Visitor Center on site.
Museum hours Tuesday- Saturday: 9AM-5PM; Sunday, 1PM-5 PM (Closed
Mondays).
The Crater Trail is open for self guided tours everyday from
9AM-5PM.
ODESSA METEOR CRATER
Some 24,000 to 25,000 years before present there was a spectacular
celestial collision that impacted in present day western Texas. A
shower composed of many thousand of individual nickel-iron
meteorites of various shapes and sizes fell over an area of about 2
square miles. The smaller more numerous meteorites either came to
rest on the earth’s surface or at the bottom of shallow impact pits
within the soil. During this meteoritic shower, there were also
several larger masses. These struck the earth with such enormous
energy that they penetrated deeply into bedrock producing craters
in the earth’s surface. The Odessa Crater was formed by one of
these larger masses.
It is estimated that when the crater was originally formed it had a
funnel-shaped depressions of about 550 feet in diameter and 100
feet deep. More than 100,000 cubic yards of crushed rock was
ejected from this crater by the energy released from the impact.
Smaller craters in the vicinity of the main crater range from 15
feet to 70 feet in diameter and from 7 feet to 18 feet deep.
Following the impact, 24,000 to 25,000 years of weathering has
taken claim of the crater by the gradual filling and accumulation
of water and wind blown sediments. The main crater was eventually
filled to within 6 feet surrounding topography. The crater now
appears as a shallow nearly circular depression surrounded by a low
rock-buttressed rim. The other nearby smaller craters were
completely buried that their existence was not know until they were
exposed during the University of Texas in the late 1930s to the
early 1940s.
To claim a find, please email me the answers
to the three questions below. Also you will need to upload a
picture of yourself holding your GPSr with the Odessa Meteor Crater
in the background.
Question 1: From the excavations in the early
1940s at the 8' x 12' x 165' shaft in the center of the crater, how
big is the meteorite that was recovered and at what museum is it
now on display?
Question 2: With your GPSr, walk the center path going though the
crater, what is the present day diameter of the crater?
Question 3: What is rock flour and how can you simulate its
formation?
Developed by A Platinum EarthCache Master
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