On the evening of July 19, 1912, Holbrook, Arizona was rocked by a meteor that detonated over head. The breaking up of this meteor created a sonic boom that shocked the handful of residents that happened to witness the event. When the meteor exploded it did so with such force that it broke up into over 16,000 individual meteorites. When these meteorites struck the ground they formed an elliptical strewn field. Strangely, the strewn field that was produced by the meteorites is remarkably small , only about one mile long by a half mile wide.
Even though nearly one hundred years have past since the witnessed fall occurred, a person can still find meteorites in the area. The meteorites found today are usually very small, and take a trained eye to recognize them. When planning to hunt the Holbrook strewn field it is a good idea to do so after a heavy rain or wind storm. It is these forces of nature that continually uncover new meteorites and really increase the odds that you will come home with a rock from space.
I have made many trips to Holbrook over the last 9 years and have found hundreds of meteorites! Unfortunatly, most of my meteorites that i've found in Holbrook have been smaller than 1 gram in size. The largest Holbrook individuals I have found were around 12 to 15 grams each.
Directions to the Holbrook Strewn Field
Travel about three miles east of Holbrook, Arizona along I-40. Take exit 294, this is the Sun Valley exit. Head south on Sun Valley road. The pavement will end after about a mile. Continue on the dirt road another mile or so till you can go no further because of the train tracks. When you come to the tracks you are right in the middle of the strewn field. It extends from one set of lights located on the tracks to the west, all the way to the other set of lights on the tracks about a mile to the east.
Jim Kriegh and I before the hunt, 2001
Jim hard at work.
Here is Jim's amazing Holbrook find! A one gram beautifully oriented individual.
Jim hunts as Christy looks on.
My 2 gram beauty insitu.
