Flagstaff, Williams and Route 66, Arizona, USA

Meteor Crater

We followed the old route 66 out of Flagstaff to see the Crater.

Supposedly the world's best preserved meteorite impact site on Earth.

This meteor crater is the result of a collision that happened 50,000 years ago with the energy of more than 20 million tons of TNT. The meteorite travelled at 26000 mph and was about 150 feet across and weighted several hundered thousand tons when it struck the plains.

From the sites information centre. A meteor is an asteroid or other object that burns and vaporizes on entry into the Earth's atmosphere eg: shooting stars. Only when an asteroid or meteoroid enters the atmosphere are they referred to as meteors. If a meteor explodes in the atmosphere, the resulting fireball is known as a bolide. — for most astronomers a bolide is simply a very bright fireball.

A meteorite is a meteor that survives the plunge through the atmosphere and lands on the surface

Meteoroids is a general term describing small particles of comets or asteroids that are in orbit around the sun, they're generally smaller than asteroids.

Walnut Canyon

On the way back to Flagstaff we stopped in at Walnut Canyon

People lived here from about A.D. 600 until 1400. Archeologists labeled this prehistoric culture Sinagua, from the old Spanish name for the region, Sierra de Sin Agua, or “mountains without water.”

They farmed the canyon rims for centuries, growing small gardens of corn, squash, and beans. During the 1100s, many moved into limestone alcoves below the canyon rim, in the cliff dwellings, The Walnut Canyon community thrived for another 150 years before the people moved on.

With the construction of the railroad nearby in the 1880s, Walnut Canyon became a popular destination for “pot-hunters” who came into the canyon and dug up ancient floors, toppled walls, and desecrated graves looking for souvenirs.
This theft and destruction led to the establishment of Walnut Canyon National Monument in 1915.