Meteor Crater

Meteor Crater, known officially as Barringer Meteorite Crater, is the world's best-preserved meteorite impact site, located approximately 35 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, on the Colorado Plateau. Created approximately 50,000 years ago when an iron-nickel meteorite roughly 160 feet in diameter struck at an estimated speed of 26,000 mph, the resulting explosion was equivalent to approximately 10 million tons of TNT. The crater measures 3,900 feet across and 550 feet deep — nearly a mile wide, large enough to contain 20 football fields on its floor. Arizona's dry climate has slowed erosion dramatically, making Barringer Crater the best-preserved impact site on Earth. The site served as a training ground for Apollo astronauts in the 1960s who practiced geological fieldwork here before their lunar missions. The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family and operated independently from the national park system. A modern visitor center sits on the crater's northern rim, housing the Explore Space Center with interactive exhibits on asteroid science, impact geology, and planetary defense. The main attraction is the covered crater rim observation deck cantilevered above the rim, offering a dramatic view of the full crater bowl and its flat floor. A large specimen of Canyon Diablo meteorite — material blasted out by the impact — is on permanent display inside the museum. Guided rim tours, offered several times daily by knowledgeable guides, add geological and historical context that significantly enriches the visit. The entire rim walk of the crater is not currently open to visitors; viewing is confined to the observation decks adjacent to the museum building.