3693 Barringer - Winslow, AZ
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 35° 01.636 W 111° 01.364
12S E 497926 N 3876067
The most famous impact crater in the United States.
Waymark Code: WMR316
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 05/04/2016
Views: 8
About the Place:
Taken from Wikipedia, "Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 37 miles (60 km) east of Flagstaff and 18 miles (29 km) west of Winslow in the northern Arizona desert of the United States. Because the United States Board on Geographic Names commonly recognizes names of natural features derived from the nearest post office, the feature acquired the name of "Meteor Crater" from the nearby post office named Meteor. The site was formerly known as the Canyon Diablo Crater and fragments of the meteorite are officially called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite. Scientists refer to the crater as Barringer Crater in honor of Daniel Barringer, who was first to suggest that it was produced by meteorite impact. The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family through their Barringer Crater Company, which proclaims it to be the "best preserved meteorite crater on Earth".
Despite its importance as a geological site, the crater is not protected as a national monument, a status that would require federal ownership. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in November 1967.
Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of about 1,740 m (5,710 ft) above sea level. It is about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in diameter, some 170 m deep (570 ft), and is surrounded by a rim that rises 45 m (148 ft) above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled with 210–240 m (690–790 ft) of rubble lying above crater bedrock.[1] One of the interesting features of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by existing regional jointing (cracks) in the strata at the impact site."
About the Person:
Taken from Wikipedia, "Daniel Moreau Barringer (May 25, 1860 – November 30, 1929) was a geologist best known as the first person to prove the existence of an impact crater on the Earth, the Meteor Crater in Arizona. The site has been renamed the Barringer Crater in his honor, although this name is mainly used in the scientific community.
Daniel Barringer, the son of Daniel Moreau Barringer and the nephew of Rufus Barringer, graduated from Princeton University in 1879 at the age of 19, and in 1882 graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Law. He later studied geology and mineralogy at Harvard University and at the University of Virginia, respectively.
In 1892, Barringer, along with his friend Richard A. F. Penrose, Jr., and others, purchased a gold and silver mine near Cochise, Arizona. Later, Barringer also discovered the Commonwealth Silver Mine in Pearce, Arizona. These mining ventures made him a wealthy man."
The plaque says: "In Memory of
Daniel Moreu Barringer
(1860-1929)
And his pioneering work in proving the origin of the Barringer Meteorite Crater
In 1903, Daniel Moreau Barringer began his quest to prove that this unique natural landmark was caused by the impact of an object from outer space.
A practicing mining engineer and geologist inquisitive and principled by nature, he spent the remaining twenty-six years of his life endeavoring to convince the scientific community and other of the truth of his impact theory. His persistence in the face of strong opposition eventual laid the groundwork for a new field of science called meteoritics. His theory of meteorite impacts, both here and on the moon, is now universally accepted, and scientists believe that much of the solar system was affected by such impacts.
This site, an ongoing educational laboratory for scientists and the public, is held by his descendants in memory of his scientific insights and unyielding determination.
Placed here this 21st day of June 2003 in the centennial of his great quest by four generations of his descendants."
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Website of the Extraterrestrial Location: [Web Link]
Celestial Body: Asteroid
Website of location on Earth: Not listed
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