One of the most significant meteorite events in recent history destroyed hundreds of square miles of forest in Siberia on June 30, 1908. It is called the Tunguska event. Witnesses saw a ball of fire streak through the sky. It exploded, sending out hot winds and loud noises and shaking the ground enough to break windows in nearby villages. Small bits that were blown into the atmosphere lit the night sky for several days.
Scientists think that a meteor exploded just before hitting the ground.
The largest meteorite ever found in the United States fell in a wheat field in southern Nebraska in 1948. Witnesses saw a giant fireball in the afternoon. The meteorite was buried 10 feet deep in the ground. The most famous meteorite crater in the United States is called Meteor Crater. The crater is in Arizona, and it's huge.