The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-01-28
METEOR-MADE CRATER
WONDER OF ARIZONA
MINING OPERATIONS CARRIED ON
IN AN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE
THE MYSTERY
tArthur Chapman in Scientific AmerI-

lAftnur chapman In Selenllllc Aneil-
CAM
Unique mining operatins have been
carried on, until recently, in the era
ter of wh@t Is known as Meteor noun
tain, near Canon Diablo. Ariz.
This is not volcanic crater, but
was formed by the fall of tremend
GUS meteor In some past age. Scien-
fists who have examined the crater
are of the opinion that the meteor
which struck the earth there must
have been of almost incalculable size
and weight. In fact, there is no indi-
cation anywhere else of the alighting
of meteor approximating the size o.
this Arizona visitor
4 Acting on the theory that the meteor
was of such great weight that it sank
into the ground to an extreme depth
mining company expended much
money In driving holes at the bottom
of the crater in a search for the main
body of the deposit. Five shafts have
been sunk at the bottom of the crater
the longest being 125 feet deep. Quick.
sands and silica, encountered at that
depth prevented further sinking From
the bottom of the deepest shaft Dor
ings have been run down to solid for
nation. but no trace of the meteor has
been found.
Discovered by Sheep Herder.
Several years ago a sheep herder
discovered some of the meteoric frag-
ments and this led to further investi-
cation, and 1t was found that the large
hill rising from the level desert, near
the spot where the herder had made
his discovery was the rim Of a great
crater More fragments were found
near this crater, and soon it became
the generally accepted theory that a
meteor caused the strange formation
in the desert, which at first had been
ascribed to volcanic action.
/ The hill itself does not deserve the
term mountain" as it rises hardly
more than $50 feet from the level of
the desert The crater is three-quar-
tiers of a mile across and is from 300 To
400 feet deep. There are 300 acres In
the bottom of the crater, giving ample
room for the mining operations Which
have been carried on,
So far as its shape is concerned the
crater could have been formed equally
a hH n I,
the character of a portion of the eject
ed material points strongly to an I'm
pact as tile origin. The evidence af-
forded by other meteorie bodies, in re-
gard to the results in impact and the
disturbance Of the surface of the earth
is very contradictory and Is of little
assistance in 'deciphering the gigantic
disturbance her found, for nothing
equaling it in size has ever been dis
covered.
Terrific Force of Proiectie.
This Arizona meteor must, by the
evidence at hand, have struck with
sufficient force to crush a LAYER Of
limestone 800 feet thick having an
average crushing strength of 1885
pounds per square inch, and, further.
OF a layer of sandstone 500 feet thick
with crushing strength of $3.50
pounds; and to meet these conditions
the hypothetical case is conceived Of
mass Of meteoric iron 500 feet in dia-
meter and striking the earth at a speed
OF 1--WE miles a second The superficial
rocks are crushed and thrown back
to an amount greater than the bulk
of the meteor, and as a projectile I'M
der similar conditions will create a
crater eight to ten times it's diameter
the supposed 500-foot protectile could
easily have formed the 3900-foot era
ter that exists in Arizona. As this
huge proiectie penetrated below the
surface the upward escape of mater
ial around the mass would be impeded
and that directly in it's path and also
that on the sides would become great
ly compacted. The heat generated bv
the rapid downward passage of the
body would produce fusion and prob
ably also partial rehabilitation and
the effect of the impact would convert
any moisture present into steam of
great explosive power. This result
would be that quantities of the sur
rounding material. together with the
portions of the meteor ITSELF would be
elected and thrown back over the rim
VI the crater and scattered over the
surrounding plain. Such Is a hypo-
hetical reproduction of an event which
would explain this curious crater and
he conditions that surround it.
Continue Mining Operations.
Meteor mountain is 10 miles from
ioizs trading post at Canon Diablo.
the heart of the grim southwestern J
esert, and is visited by few people.
ret 1t is one of the most interesting
atural attractions of the southwest
is believed mining operations win t
e taken up again and that some way s
III be found to penetrate more deeply S
eneath the crater and ascertain where 3
ne greatest of meteors is resting. as v
lany believe, in a solid mass hun ]!
reds Of feet below the level of the h
rizona desert, or whether there is
othing left of the original body of the
tetpOritp hut the sont+araJ .t..., n