Odessa Meteor Crater

Sometime in the late Pleistocene a swarm of iron meteorites, the kind called octahedrites, came down over the plains southwest of what is now Odessa. Estimates of when vary widely, from about 20,000 to more than 60,000 years ago. The largest pieces blew out several craters. The main one is about 550 feet across and was originally about 100 feet deep, but wind and water have filled it until its lowest point is only about 15 feet below the rim. It reads as a broad saucer rather than a canyon, which is the point: this is what a crater looks like after the weather has worked on it.

An iron fragment found in 1921 started the study, and the depression was described as an impact crater in 1927. More than 1,500 meteorites have since been recovered around it, the largest about 300 pounds, most from the ground north and northwest of the main crater. A nearby state marker says the main mass still lies deep below the floor. Later excavation in the main crater found no buried mass, and none is thought to be there.

The National Park Service lists the site as a National Natural Landmark. A self-guided interpretive trail runs from the museum down into the crater, past signs on its formation and on staying clear of rattlesnakes. Take nothing: the rocks on the trail stay on the trail. The museum shows recovered meteorites and the history of the digs.