Arizona's Other Big Hole

Above a view of the crater. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last year, while en route to Metropolis, Illinois, I stopped at Meteor Crater in Arizona. It is the best-preserved crater formed by an impacting meteor.

AZCentral wrote:

Arizona is best known for its giant hole in the ground, a feature that became the state's license-plate slogan and has etched itself into the hearts of tourists around the world.
But Grand Canyon isn’t the state’s only hole in the ground that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. 

Meteor Crater is a geological warm-up act to the Canyon, an interesting diversion worth visiting for an hour or so (more if you browse the gift shop or have lunch at the sandwich shop). 

And you don't want to miss the story of how the attraction all started with a miner willing to sink his family's fortune into the pit. 

Fifty thousand years ago, give or take a millennium, a 150-foot-wide iron-nickel meteorite slammed to Earth, killing every living thing within a few miles. 

The mile-wide, 550-foot-deep gouge people see today was crafted in roughly 10 seconds when the meteorite, traveling at 26,000 mph, crash-landed in what was then a forest of juniper and piñon pines. 

Thanks to orbital physics, gravity and human-migration patterns, the meteorite hit a spot just 5 miles off the future site of a major interstate. Billboards to the east and west tout the privately owned landmark, beckoning travelers who could use a break. 

The crater is more a stopover than a destination, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The space-crafted bowl draws more than 200,000 people annually, and it’s likely the vast majority have pulled over on the way to Grand Canyon or while exploring Route 66. More than a few probably stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, 26 miles to the east and the closest town to the crater.

Above, the Meteor Crater Visitor Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A visit to Meteor Crater is worth it. The visitor center has plenty of exhibits to view. It has a parking lot designated for RV travelers.

There's a nice, handy RV park with a gas station and store at the exit off Interstate 40 for those who want to take a breather from driving.

Above, The Beast at Meteor Crater RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.