Odessa Meteor Crater

▪ crater, Texas, United States

      shallow, cone-shaped impact crater in the High Plains just southwest of Odessa, Texas, U.S., produced by a meteorite. It is about 17 feet (5 metres) deep and 560 feet (170 metres) in diameter; its rim rises only 2 to 3 feet (less than a metre) above the surrounding area. In 1939 nearly 1,500 nickel-iron meteorite fragments were collected from the ground around the crater and on its rim. The composition of the meteorite fragments indicates that the crater was caused by a rare metallic meteorite (only 10 percent of meteors are metallic, most being stony) probably formed by the breakup of a planetoid. It is estimated to be about 20,000 years old. The original crater bottom was determined to have been 100 feet (30 metres) below the level of the surrounding land and 500 feet (150 metres) in diameter. The crater first drew public attention in 1921. Three smaller impact-crater sites were found nearby in 1939. The site was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1965.

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