Title: Reno Gazette City: Reno, Nevada Date: Monday, December 18, 1950 Page: 4
Meteorite Crater? Stories of Skies By Hugh Pruett Astronomre, Extension Division, Oregon Higher Education System Huge depressions surrounded by high rims of broken rock and situated on toehrwise level plains have been found in several places on the earth. In recent times it seems certain that these have been blasted out by the descent of stony or metallic missles from the great interplanetary spaces. The best known of about a dozen such holes is the famous Barringer Meteorite crater in Arizona, an almost circular depression approxiately 4000 feet across. The top of the rim varies from 120 to 160 feet above the surrounding plain and the inside floor is about 600 feet below the rim. Terrific upheaval of the original strata occurred at the time of impact for huge boulders, some as large as an ordinary house, make up a considerable part of the rim. In the rim and scattered for miles on the plain, tons of metallic meteorites have been found. Now we learn of another crater, recently discovered in the northwestern part of Quebec south of Baffin Island, which dwarfs considerably the Arizona depression. It is about 2 1/2 miles across from rim to rim, and the top of the rim stands 550 feet above the plain. Unlike the Arizona crater, this latest depression contains a lake, the surface of which is somewhat higher thant he surfaces of the numerous small lakes found int eh surrounding plain. Last July when it was first examined by a scientific expedition, the water surface in places was by ice three feet thick. It is said that this crater, which is located in an unfrequented part of the world, was first noted on aerial photographs by a prospector, Fred W. Chubb. This was reported to the Globe-Telegram of Toronto. This paper was instrumental in organizing a scientific expedition, which included Dr. V. Ben Meen of the Royal Ontario museum. Although no meteorites have been found among the boulders of rim or on the surrounding plain during the short preliminary investigation, Dr. Meen feels quite certain the formation is due to the action of a huge meteorite and is not volcanic in nature. He believes the tearing fromt he plain of liely ten billion of tons of granite which forms the rim, took place sometime between 1000 and 3000 B.C. Further study is planned next summer when magnetic methods will be used to try to locate meteoritical material and to determine of a large mass is likely beneath the lake. The scientists are sure no glacial action has taken place since the crater was formed. The explorers hoped they were the first campers ever in that locality, but the finding of a tin can blasted their hopes. One member in anger threw it away. Later when they wanted to see if it contain a message, they could not find it. Excellent pictures of the crater and the exploring party are carried in the October number of Griffith Observer published in Los Angeles. Time for Aug. 14 and other publications discussed the subject. Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles. |
