Massive Meteorite

(Looking at the Earth from space, an object speeds through space with a stream of smoke behind it. The object makes contact with the Earth and fire and clouds of smoke billow up from the surface.)

[Abby Brown] 74 million years ago, a mountain-sized meteorite streaked through the sky and hit the Earth. The explosive power of the impact was like a bomb, killing plants and animals for hundreds of miles. It was one of the largest impact events to ever occur in North America and it happened right here in Iowa.

(Map marking Calhoun County, Iowa, in the north central part of the state.)

Manson, Iowa, isn't just your average Midwest town.

The people living here are going about their daily lives working and going to school in a giant crater! So what's a crater? It's the indentation left behind when something smashes into something else with a lot of force.

(Abby holds her right hand in a fist above her head with her left palm up and open.)

In this case, a meteorite smashing into planet Earth.

(Abby brings her fist down into her open palm. When her fist lands into her palm she curls the fingers of her left hand around the fist of her right)

The impact we're talking about was millions and millions of years ago, and it left behind a crater that was 23 miles wide.

(Abby holds her left palm open, curling her fingers up to make a crater shape.)

But, the center of the impact was right around here in Manson.

(A person pushes a green push-pin into an Iowa map at the location of Manson, Iowa.)

And here's where it gets a little tricky. Because the impact happened so long ago, the crater has since been filled in with sediment. So, we can't see the impact spot anymore. It's way below the surface, but there are some indicators that prove that it happened.

(A person filling a glass of water from the kitchen sink.)

Calhoun County has naturally soft water. It's thought that when the meteorite hit, it vaporized the limestone layers underground that give the rest of Iowa hard water. Fascinating.

Inside the Manson Public Library, there are core samples from underground where the meteorite hit. Let's go check it out.

(Meteorite samples on a display.)

These samples were taken from different parts of the Manson impact structure. You can see how different they look. Scientists can learn a lot from these samples, like how the meteorites impact melted rock and more information on the structure of the crater itself. Kind of like a glimpse into what that underground landscape might look like. The librarian at the Manson Public Library is always available to help visitors understand more about this geological wonder. Every county in Iowa has an explosion of history to share. In Calhoun County, that history made a huge impact.

Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.