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What is the Willamette Meteorite made of?
iron meteorite
The Willamette Meteorite weighs about 34,200 pounds (15,500 kg). It is classified as a type III iron meteorite, being composed of over 91\% iron and 7.62\% nickel, with traces of cobalt and phosphorus. The approximate dimensions of the meteorite are 10 feet (3 m) tall by 6.5 feet (2 m) wide by 4.25 feet (1.3 m) deep.
When did the Willamette Meteorite hit earth?
Storied rock is the largest found in North America The meteorite Tomanowos, also referred to as the Willamette Meteorite, formed about 4.5 billion years ago, at the start of the solar system. For an unknown amount of time it sped around the sun before falling to Earth.
What is the largest meteorite found on Earth?
Hoba
But the largest meteorite on earth is this monster, named Hoba. It is located in Namibia, and has never been moved. Hoba is nearly twice the weight of its nearest rival El Chaco at 60 tonnes. This makes it the biggest naturally occurring piece of iron known on Earth’s surface at 6.5 square metres.
Where did the Willamette Meteorite come from?
The Willamette Meteorite was originally located within the Upper Willamette Valley of Oregon, near the present-day city of Portland. The Clackamas Indians lived in the valley before the arrival of European settlers.
Where did the Canyon Diablo meteorite come from?
The Canyon Diablo iron meteorites arrived 49,000 years ago when an asteroid plunged into North Central Arizona, forming Meteor Crater. Thousands of meteorite fragments of the asteroid were scattered by the explosion over the area.
Where in Oregon was the Willamette Meteorite found?
What is a crater caused by a meteorite called?
Craters produced by the collision of a meteorite with the Earth (or another planet or moon) are called impact craters. The high-speed impact of a large meteorite compresses, or forces downward, a wide area of rock.
What caused Meteor Crater?
Forty-nine thousand years ago, a large 30 to 50 meter diameter iron asteroid impacted the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. The resulting massive explosion excavated 175 million tons of rock, forming a crater nearly a mile wide and 570 feet deep. (Click here to learn about the geology of the region).