The Winslow mail., 1926-06-11
METEOR MOUNTAIN
CRATER MADE BY
CELESTIAL VISITOR

Did you know that, once upon
a time, a star collided with the
earth, and dealt it what must have
been the greatest blow it ever re-
ceived? That the scar of the i'm
pact is still visible? That the
heavenly visitor is now buried be-
meath the arid soil of Northern
Arizona, and that you might. with
a little effort, find fragments scat
tered over a wide area few miles
west of Winslow? That looking
| down into the pit is one of the
most remarkable sights on this
earth-one that awes the beholder
with its mystery?
Fifty or hundred times as fast
as a bullet flies, the million ton
meteor blazed out of the blue sky
colllded with the earth, showered
an area of Is square miles with
many thousands of white hot iron,
nickel and platinum missiles, after
the manner of huge shrapnel let
ting go, tore stupendous hole in
the solid rock surface and i'm
Dedded it's metallic head far be-
meath. The appalling planetary
crash, which left the earth wound
that is a world wonder centuries
ago.
Winslow derives it's slogan, "The
Meteor City," from this unique and
bizarre work of nature.
For more than 25 years mining
| operations have been conducted in
the hope of locating the great mass
OF valuable ore. Thousands CT
| pounds of surface specimens nave
been picked up. and within recent
weeks one 200-pound piece was
found on The desert five miles
away from the pit. Every day
there are minute fragments found.
A 4O0-pound specimen is on display
before the sales room of the Payne
& Funk Studebaker agency in
Winslow, and several are to be
found at the court house at Flag
staff. Museums all over the world
have purchased the most of the
large pieces discovered.
Within a radius of ten miles of
the pit has been found more me-
teoric iron than on all the rest of
the earth's surface.
The sunken meteorite is esti-
mated to be at least 800 feet in
diameter and to weigh 100000
tons. Some experts who have
studied the subject would double,
treble, and even quintuple these
figures.
Its impact gouged basin nearly
four-f1fths of a mile in diameter and
1880 feet deep, but now the bottom
is partly filed with sediment, and
the average depth is $40 feet, with
a level bottom of about 800 acres,
and a rim 120 to 100 feet above the
| level of the surrounding country,
sloping outward from 600 to LOO
! yards. More than 300,000,000 tons
of stone were broken, crushed and
expelled by the inconceivable pres
sure, and malt as much more yiO-
lently displaced. On the south side
for half a mile along the rim all
the strata were vertically lifted as
a mass 105 feet above their original
position, turned outward sharply on
edge, and SO remain.
A number of years ago drill
rig was erected by the Guggen-
heimmining interests to explore for
the main body of the meteor. At
depth of 1000 feet a mass of some
substance far too hard for the
drills to penetrate was discovered,
and it is thought the drills reach
ed the meteor, but no practicable
means was ever devised to continue
the explorations through the crum-
bled and pulverized strata above.
The derrick is still standing and
is visible for 20 miles in all direc-
tions. Most tourists scowl or smile
at the thought of another wildcat
oil WE'LL" little realizing thai the
tower is monument to strenu-
Gus endeavor to solve one of the
most perplexing riddles of the uni
verse Good roads lead up to the
very edge of the gigantic pit, and
tourists are more and more learn
ing to visit this supernatural ap-
pearing spectacle, which has for its
only counterpart the craters of the
| mOOn.-TouriSt Daily News