[meteorite-list] NP Article, 05-1939 Goose Lake Meteorite Found

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Reno Gazette City: Reno, Nevada Date: Thursday, May 04, 1939 Page: 16 METEOR IS FOUND IN MODOC LAVA COUNTRY     OAKLAND, Calif., May 4 (AP) - Three scientists fought their way along a seven-mile mountainside trail of boulders and fallen trees in far-northern California today to bring out what they called "the finest specimen of meteorite ever found on the Pacific coast."  It weighed 1 1/2 tons.     Prof. Earle G. Linsley, director of Chabot observatory here, sent word from the isolated area in the Modoc national forest, five miles south of the Oregon line, that the meteor would arrive here by truck Saturday.     The tall, sandy-haired scientists, in terming the meteorite the "finest specimen" found on the coast, estimated it fell one thousand years ago.  The ground beneath it was not dented, and Prof. Linsley theorized the meteorite fell when glaciers covered the area, and settled gently as the ice melted.     He said it would be known as the "Goose Lake" meteorite because it was discovered in the Goose Lake area forty milrs from Alturas, Calif. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     One of the largest meteorites ever found in the United States has been discoverd in the barren lava county of Modoc National forest in northern California, officials of the United States forest service reported today.  Weighing between one and three tons, the solid metal body takes a place among the nation's seven largest known meteors.  The wedge shaped mass is reported to vary from one to three feet in width and is four feet long.     C. A. Schmidt of Oakland made the find last October while deer hunting on the Modoc forest with two companions.  He confided his discovery to forest service officers and since than a number of scientists and representatives of the scientific institutes have become interested in the fallen body.  The Smithsonian Institute of Washington, D. C. has taken a particular interest in the discovery since all meteorites found on government land become the property of the institute.  It was believed that considerable difficulty will be met in hauling the heavy object to civilization.     Schmidt, accompanied by Professor Earle G. Lindsley of Mills College and Chabot Observatory, Oakland, and Dr. H. H. Nininger, scientist and outstanding meteor authority from Denver, Colo. packed in to the wilderness lava beds this week to study the meteorite.  The party is being assisted by forest service rangers.     Preliminary analysis shows that the meteorite is composed largely of iron.  The extent of surface oxidation is said to be quite limited, indicating that the body had fallen in geologically recent years. Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles.