Aug 17, 2010, 02:28 PM
The following meteorites are known from Alaska. They're name is followed by the approximate size, and the approximate date of impact or date found. Each entry is separated by a semi-colon (:
Avak (about 30 km east of Barrow, Alaska), 12 km (kilometers), 600 million years ago (mya); Chilkoot, 43 kg., circa 1881; Cold Bay, 320 grams, 1921; Aggie Creek, 43 kg., 1942; Hope Creek, 9.83 kg., 1998.
The Meteoritical Society is the source for this information.
Alaska contains 586412 square miles, so should have at least that many 8 oz. or larger meteorites. Only 5 are currently known, so much possibility here. The Avak crater is especially interesting, in that the original mass was estimated to be 12 km (9+ miles) in diameter. By comparison, the Canyon Diablo meteorite, aka Meteorite Crater in Arizona, was created by a mass perhaps 1/2 km in diameter. Thousands of fragments from the Canyon Diablo are known, but no specimens have been found on the Adak crater that I am aware of. Should be a happy detecting ground for at last 50 km away from the crater site, with larger residual meteoritic fragments probably falling close by the rim of the crater.
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