RonnieAdventure #0062 - Desert Discovery Center, Barstow, San Bernardino County, California

When I learned that the second largest meteorite ever discovered in the United States was on display at the Desert Discovery Center in Barstow, California, I knew it was time for a RonnieAdventure!

The Desert Discovery Center is comprised of a unique partnership between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), Barstow Community College, City of Barstow, and several other organizations, with a mission to "develop and implement a comprehensive formal and informal education center with programs focusing on the natural, cultural, and historic resources associate with the California Desert." Since most activity at the center is during the winter months when school in in session and there are more tourist roaming around the area, we had the place mostly to ourselves.

After I studied the Old Woman Meteorite from various angles, and engaged the right side of my brain to be more creative, I could finally see the profile of an old woman's face with a short pudgy nose and her mouth partially open. When I explained this to the a docent that worked in the center, she smiled and politely explained that the Old Woman Meteorite was actually named for the place where it was found - the Old Woman Mountains in San Bernardino County, CA. (I guess the people that named the meteorite didn't use the right side of their brains!)

Apparently, in 1975 three prospectors found the meteorite and immediately tried to file a mining claim on the site. Unfortunately, meteorites found on Federal lands fall under the Antiquities Act and are considered to be objects of national scientific interest. Therefore, the meteorite became an artifact of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

However, removing the meteorite from the Old Woman Mountains turned out to be a difficult task because of the rugged topography and the desert's summer heat. It finally required the U.S. Marine Corps to complete the job!

The First Marine Division Support Group climbed up to the site, and by using equipment lowered from a helicopter, they managed to get a double thickness of cargo netting around the meteorite. Then, a helicopter from the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 moved the meteorite to a road where it could be transported back to Barstow.

At the Smithsonian Institute, the meteorite was found to weigh 6, 070 pounds when delivered, but a section of the meteorite weighing 942 pounds was removed and examined to determine the chemical makeup.

The meteorite was found to be quite rare and composed mostly of iron, about 6% nickel, and small amounts of cobalt, phosphorus, and chromium. It is believed that the meteorite came from the Asteroid Belt located in an orbit around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter and is probably a fragment produced from the collision of asteroids.

In addition to the Old Woman Meteorite, there are various other types of meteorites on display. Apparently, about 92% of the meteorites falling to Earth are a compose of stony material, about 6% are composed of iron-nickel, and about 2% are stony-iron composites. The iron-nickel meteorites are typically the only ones found because the other 94% all resemble rocks on the ground.

In 1980 the Old Woman Meteorite was returned to Barstow where it is to be kept on permanent display at the Desert Discovery Center. The public is invited to stop by the Center to view the Meteorite.