Tag Archives: Meteor Crater

Geologist Eugene Shoemaker (center, holding hammer) lectures on the geology of impact craters to a group of astronauts at Meteor Crater, Arizona, in 1967.
1960: Eugene Shoemaker – Unveiling the Impact Craters on Earth

Eugene Shoemaker's research transformed our understanding of impact cratering on Earth, proving the asteroidal origins of features like Meteor Crater

Main image: USGS geologist G. K. Gilbert climbing an outcrop near Berkeley, California, around 1906. Inset: A photo from around 1891 showing Gilbert's experiments that demonstrated the formation of impact craters by throwing balls of hard clay into soft clay.
1879: The Evolution of the United States Geological Survey – The Legacy of G. K. Gilbert

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, was pivotal in exploring America's expanding territories. Notable geologist G. K. Gilbert's contributions, especially in understanding the Meteor Crater, underscored the agency's role in advancing geological knowledge, which [...]

Aerial view of Meteor Crater, a ¾ mile (1.2 kilometers) wide hole in the Arizona desert formed approximately 50,000 years ago by the impact of a small iron-rich asteroid traveling at speeds exceeding 6 miles (10 kilometers) per second
c. 50,000 BCE: Arizona’s Meteor Crater – A Window into Earth’s Impact History

Meteor Crater near Flagstaff, Arizona, is a pristine geological site formed 50,000 years ago by an asteroid impact, offering insights into Earth's history with extraterrestrial collisions