Winslow Az Meteor Barringer Crater

Approximately 50,000 years ago, a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 metres across hit the Colorado Plateau at 12 kilometres per second and excavated a hole 1.2 kilometres wide and 170 metres deep. The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family, who bought it in 1903 on the conviction that a large iron deposit must lie beneath. No significant iron was found; the meteorite vaporised on impact. The family still owns it.

The Crater

Barringer Meteor Crater sits 55 kilometres east of Flagstaff and 8 kilometres south of Interstate 40. The best-preserved meteorite impact crater on earth, maintained by desert climate that inhibits erosion. Admission USD 28 for adults.

The rim trail visits four observation points and takes about 30 minutes. Standing at the rim and looking across 1.2 kilometres to the opposite wall, 170 metres below, gives an immediate physical sense of the scale of the impact; it’s not abstract once you’re on the edge. Guided rim walks run on scheduled times and provide geological context that the self-guided route lacks. Descending into the crater is not permitted.

The visitor centre holds a 640-kilogram fragment of the Canyon Diablo meteorite. The IMAX film is included in admission but skippable; the meteorite fragment and the impact science exhibition are not.

Winslow, Arizona

Eleven kilometres east on I-40. Standin’ on the Corner Park marks the street corner from the Eagles’ 1972 song “Take It Easy.” Bronze statue, mural, five minutes of your time.

La Posada Hotel on Second Street is more worth your attention. Designed by Mary Colter and opened in 1930 as the last great Harvey House railroad hotel, it was scheduled for demolition and restored to operation in the 1990s. The tile work, furniture, and decorative program are authentically impressive. The Turquoise Room restaurant serves Navajo-influenced Southwestern cooking at dinner Tuesday through Sunday; mains USD 25 to 40.

Petrified Forest

80 kilometres east on I-40. Petrified Forest National Park contains 225-million-year-old logs silicified into coloured quartz. The 45-kilometre park road passes Painted Desert viewpoints, short hiking trails, and the main log concentrations. Entry USD 25 per vehicle. The park’s visitor centre notes that it receives hundreds of kilograms of smuggled wood returned annually by mail from guilty former visitors; theft is surprisingly common and also a federal crime.

Base

Flagstaff is the practical base, 55 kilometres west, with full hotel infrastructure and direct Amtrak service from Los Angeles and Chicago. The Grand Canyon South Rim is about 90 minutes north.