Meteor Crater: Arizona's Impact Hole

Meteor Crater is the best-preserved meteorite crater on Earth.

Meteor Crater lies in northern Arizona between Flagstaff and Winslow.

Meteor Crater spans about 1,200 meters in diameter.

The crater is roughly 170 meters deep from rim to bottom.

Rim rises 45 meters above the surrounding plains.

Rubble fills 210 to 240 meters of the crater's center.

Meteor Crater’s square outline comes from cracks in rock layers.

A 50 meter wide nickel-iron meteorite created the crater.

The crater formed about 50,000 years ago in the Pleistocene.

The meteorite hit Earth at about 29,000 miles per hour.

Half of the meteorite vaporized before it reached the ground.

Daniel Barringer searched for iron in the crater for 27 years.

Barringer drilled 419 meters deep but found no large iron deposit.

Shocked quartz proved Meteor Crater was made by an impact event.

The Barringer family still owns Meteor Crater today.