U of M Geologists Discover Huge Ancient Meteor Crash Site

This kind of stuff always fascinates me. I really makes the time that man has walked the Earth seem so miniscule when we discover things from hundreds of millions of years ago. Difficult to fathom.

Get our free mobile app

According to fox9.com, University of Minnesota geologists have discovered a meteor crash site in Inner Grove Heights that dates way, way back. According to the University of Minnesota geologists, it appears the meteor struck there around 490 million years ago.

The University of Minnesota geologists published a release last month stating; The crater appears to be about 350 feet beneath the city and about 2.5 miles wide. The impact area lies on the southern border of the city, near the Mississippi River, and includes the Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area on the river's edge. For reference, researchers say they believe this crater would be 11 times the size of the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona.

This is a pretty rare find considering there are only roughly less than 200 meteor crash sites on the entire planet that have been discovered, so far, according to Julia Steenberg, a co discoverer of the meteor crash site, She went on to say "I’ve been mapping and studying the subsurface geology of Minnesota for the last 13 years … and have not come across something as exceptional as this before,"

It's beyond me how anyone goes about making such a discovery. But it seems like it would be a pretty fascinating field to work in.

LOOK: The states with the most UFO sightings

For each state, we’ve also included details of famous UFO sightings in that state. Of note is that almost three-quarters of all UFO sighting reports in the United States occur between 4 p.m. and midnight, and tend to peak between 9 and 10 p.m. Food for thought next time you're out scoping for alien life. Keep reading to see which states have had the most UFO sightings.

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

FOR SALE: Feast Yer Eyes on This Pirate Ship

Categories: Minnesota