Odessa Meteor Crater - Odessa, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 45.415 W 102° 28.738
13R E 738786 N 3516258
The crater is free to explore from a trail, and an adjacent museum provides more information and sells fragments of the meteor based on weight. A nearby Texas historical plaque claims that the bulk of the space rock is still buried 170 feet below.
Waymark Code: WMPZPZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2015
Views: 8
The Odessa Meteor Crater, second largest in the United States and 6th largest in the world, was formed some 20,000 years ago when an iron meteorite believed to weigh 1,000 tons crashed into the Earth. The impact was so great that 4.3 million cubic feet of rock was expelled forming a cone-shaped crater 500 feet wide and 100 feet deep.
The action of wind and water during the subsequent centuries filled the cavity with silt so that today its concave surface is only 5 – 6 feet below the level of the surrounding plain. The crater retains its original board diameter, surrounded by a low, rock-buttressed rim crested when limestone formations were shattered and forced to the surface by the burrowing mass.
If you visit be sure to stay on the designated paths and watch out for rattlesnakes!
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.