Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve

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Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The reserve is located 145 kilometres south west of Alice Springs and contains twelve craters, which were formed when a meteor hit the earth’s surface.

Henbury is one of five meteor impact sites in Australia associated with actual meteorite fragments and one of the world's best preserved examples of a small crater field. At Henbury there are 13 to 14 craters ranging from 7 to 180 metres in diameter and up to 15 metres in depth that were formed when the meteor broke up before impact. Several tonnes of iron-nickel fragments have been recovered from the site. The site has been dated to 4.2±1.9 thousand years ago based on the cosmogenic 14C terrestrial age of the meteorite.

The craters were discovered in 1899 by the manager of Henury Station, then went uninvestigated until interest was stirred when the Karoonda meteorite fell on South Australia in 1930. The Meteorite Craters at Henbury Central Australia by A.R. Alderman was published in 1932 detailing the scientific investigations of the site. Numerous studies have been undertaken since.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henbury_crater
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   24°34'32"S   133°8'36"E

Comments

  • An excellent info link.... http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/henbury.html
  • This area was featured on the American TV show "Meteorite Men" wherein two men search for meteors at various locations. Several finds were made atop the ridge to the south-west of the big, visible craters. The outline of the area has been modified to show the known strewn field where finds have been made
This article was last modified 12 years ago