Great ride to Whitecourts Meteor Sight

[kenvb]

we unloaded east of Whitecourt at Friends place, went south thru bush about 15 kms to the Meteor Landing sight that the Government Now claimed?no picking in the actual Hole, But if find any outside,please call this number on the sign?was a very well used Quad trail in to there. so Daughter had no problems using her 450 Yamaha .

 

[Sledderglen]

Good post thanks. How deep do you think the divot is??

 

[kenvb]

about 40 ft, I know, I tryed dragging my Daughter In law to the bottom after my Grand daughter asked her how old is this Hole Mommy, Mommy said, a Little older than Opa ?? thats me, so I grabbed her ankles and dragged her to the bottom, But as you can see, The old guy ended up on the bottom.

 

[scotts]

Thats pretty cool,ive never heard of that before. how old is the crater?

 

[kenvb]

heres what the Xperts say

The Whitecourt Meteorite Impact Crater
Long known as a local gathering place for deer and other wildlife, the bowl-shaped depression in the woods near Whitecourt is now recognized to be the result of the impact of an iron-rich rock from space about 1100 years ago. The crater represents the only crater exposed at the surface in Alberta, and only the 30th crater recognized in Canada and the youngest. It is also the only crater in Canada with associated meteorites, and amongst less than a dozen craters with meteorites worldwide. Meteorites, which are pieces of the impactor, are found scattered around the crater and provide us with information about the asteroid from which the impactor came. The crater and meteorites are exceptionally preserved, providing a unique resource for understanding the processes which shape planetary bodies, and new information on the frequency and impact of these events on earth.

Research on this impact event is forthcoming in the December issue of Geology:
Herd, C.D.K., D.G. Froese, E.L. Walton, R.S. Kofman, E.P.K. Herd and M.J.M. Duke (2008). Anatomy of a young impact event in central Alberta, Canada: Prospects for the missing Holocene impact record. Geology, v. 36, 955-958, doi: 10.1130/G25236A.1.

This is available online here to those with web access to the journal. The following is a summary of the discovery of the crater and current knowledge.

Discovery
Local residents contacted Dr. Chris Herd, the curator of the Alberta Meteorite Collection and a meteorite researcher at the University of Alberta in July 2007 after they had recovered several metallic fragments next to a large hole in the ground. Analysis of one of the fragments with the Scanning Electron Microscope confirmed that it was a meteorite, and the finders accompanied Dr. Herd and geomorphologist Dr. Duane Froese to the site. It became apparent that the hole in the ground was indeed a crater.

 

[switchbackfst]

heres what the Xperts say

The Whitecourt Meteorite Impact Crater
Long known as a local gathering place for deer and other wildlife, the bowl-shaped depression in the woods near Whitecourt is now recognized to be the result of the impact of an iron-rich rock from space about 1100 years ago. The crater represents the only crater exposed at the surface in Alberta, and only the 30th crater recognized in Canada and the youngest. It is also the only crater in Canada with associated meteorites, and amongst less than a dozen craters with meteorites worldwide. Meteorites, which are pieces of the impactor, are found scattered around the crater and provide us with information about the asteroid from which the impactor came. The crater and meteorites are exceptionally preserved, providing a unique resource for understanding the processes which shape planetary bodies, and new information on the frequency and impact of these events on earth.

Research on this impact event is forthcoming in the December issue of Geology:
Herd, C.D.K., D.G. Froese, E.L. Walton, R.S. Kofman, E.P.K. Herd and M.J.M. Duke (2008). Anatomy of a young impact event in central Alberta, Canada: Prospects for the missing Holocene impact record. Geology, v. 36, 955-958, doi: 10.1130/G25236A.1.

This is available online here to those with web access to the journal. The following is a summary of the discovery of the crater and current knowledge.

Discovery
Local residents contacted Dr. Chris Herd, the curator of the Alberta Meteorite Collection and a meteorite researcher at the University of Alberta in July 2007 after they had recovered several metallic fragments next to a large hole in the ground. Analysis of one of the fragments with the Scanning Electron Microscope confirmed that it was a meteorite, and the finders accompanied Dr. Herd and geomorphologist Dr. Duane Froese to the site. It became apparent that the hole in the ground was indeed a crater.

Thats pretty interesting. Nice pictures too looks deep even by the pics.