Visiting the Second Largest Meteor Crater in the Country - The Odessa Meteor Crater
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2024
- The Odessa Meteor Crater gets its name as it is located right outside of Odessa, Texas. It is one of a number of craters in the area that were created due to impacts with a number of meteorites around 63,000 years ago.
According to the National Park Service, the Odessa Meteor Crater is one of only two known meteor sites in the country, and the second largest impact crater in the United States. The crater was first discovered in 1892, and was determined to be an impact crater in the 1920s.
Originally the crater was about 100 feet deep, but over the millennia the crater has slowly filled in, and now is only nine to fourteen feet deep.
In this video we visit the Odessa Meteor Crater (and make a stop at Odessa's Stonehenge), walk down into the crater, and explore it's history.
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Native Texan here. It's a difficult task to make anything in Odessa sound amazing. Good job!
I would call oil and gas wells pretty amazing. Actually there are VERY few really amazing things in Texas considering the size of the state.
LMFAO!! 😂
Hahahaha...you got that right!
Thanks! It’s been over 40 years since I’ve been out there. I think that there are more than two impact features in the USA. Sierra Madre, south of Fort Stockton is one. Keep an open mind and get out there as much as you can! The visitors center is nice.
I'd say Odessa's terrific economy with high-paying jobs galore is about as impressive as you can get!
I was there years ago & there was no buildings, no museum or even signs. You just parked & walked into the crater. Nice thing to visit.
Wow, at least they've upgraded it somewhat over the years.
Were no buildings
I used to hunt rabbits all out there as a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s. All that was there was a sign that said Odessa meteor crater.
Native Odessan here. Thanks for shining light on our dusty corner of Texas.
Hello, it's a fun place. My brother drove me there on a Honda Goldwing. The outing was double the fun.
Same. Born there many moons ago. Moved to Houston in the 70s.
@@chriswampler1 Hah, my brother, born in Houston. Lived the last half of life in Odessa. I loved being there during Tumbleweed Season. It was terrific!
Just got back to home in Nevada from Menard. Visited a friend who has a ranch there. Enjoyed it immensely. The folks there are SO friendly.
There are two small meteor craters in East Texas somewhere near Henderson. Those were used by the Caddo for tribal mettings since an orator at the bottom can be heard by everyone sitting along the sides. In NW Indiana there are the remains of the Kentland Crater. In 1880 two farmers found solid rock one foot below the top soil. They opened up a rock quarry to find layers of different rock standing straight up. In 1971 geologists declared it was the rebound dome inside an ancient meteor crater that has disappeared due to erosion and glaciers. They said the dome lost 900 feet in height for the same reasons. The diameter of the dome is 3 miles wide so the crater was huge.
Texas has gas, oil, money , and plenty of hot air.
"Those were used by the Caddo for tribal mettings since an orator at the bottom can be heard by everyone sitting along the sides."
Now THAT is very, VERY cool!
Man it’s desolate out there. Thanks again for taking us along Steve.
Everything is so flat and oil wells everywhere!
Plenty of land to develop and bring civilization to over the next 500 years lol.
I don't usually say I'm from Texas but you're right. The whole state of Texas is desolate.
I don’t know. I like the several places I’ve been to in Texas. I like the people, and I think having that much open space is awesome.
@@EricT3769 The critters that live there probably think the open space is the most awesome -est on the whole planet.
I gotta say the museum looks a lot better than the crater, maybe that's why it's free. THE SARGE
Yeah, you can't charge for this crater.
@@SidetrackAdventures They should not charge 30 bucks for the AZ one. What's wrong with politicians and parks these days? Never mind. Answered it myself. But-- I'm in NEOK and I will come see the Odessa crater because of your video
@@user-io9ie5cs8jThe reason that there's a charge for the barringer crater in Arizona is because it's privately owned. It's not owned by the government.
@@user-io9ie5cs8j The AZ crater is a private enterprise IIRC though I do agree with you. The prices to get into national parks are pretty hefty.
@@user-io9ie5cs8j That's on private land but sure, go ahead and blame the government for all your problems like capitalism has taught you.
Very interesting. First time I heard of the Odessa Meteor Crater.
Someone I spoke to in Odessa hadn't even heard of it!
Wow! That kind of explains the empty parking lot.
I’ve never heard of it, but I’d visit it…mostly to see the meteor fragments, but it would feel weird having the whole place to myself. Weird, but nice.
Well in 1987, I don't "think" it had been incorp'ed into Odessa. I could be wrong,, but back then,, if you werent aware of a crater in that expanse between Odessa & Monahans, you'd pass by it unaware short of a pull off on the hwy, a,55gal trash drum and a leaning T-post with a weather beatin sign 10'×5" describing a crater you couldn't define from the rest of the rattle snake dens and calechi pits.
@@EricT3769 Fragments are available.
Another great vacation, thanks for taking me along! The best thing our parents ever gave us kids was the love of travel! Tell your son he may not realize how lucky he has been until he's older!
Thanks for your video. In 1970 on a vacation trip to Disney land from South Georgia I intentionally planned trip to stop at Odessa to see this crater. Upon arrival we found the site was closed and fenced off. No explanation given. I have always wondered what that crater looked like. Now after all these years I finally know. Truly surprising how shallow it is and unimpressive.
From what I understand back then there wasn't even a museum, so I wonder who opened and closed it.
Hi, I don't know when it occurred but a college made a search for the meteorite at some time. Drilled a shaft nearly 200 feet if I recall. Didn't find anything if I recall.
From the stories I remember people used to dump trash out there. Probably why they fenced it off.
@@chriswampler1 Idiots!
Your drone shot really shows the vast open space of the area. Thanks Steve. Go Giants.
Yeah, the land is flat as far as the eyes can see.
Your childhood story about digging a crater reminds me of my short-lived mission to dig a long trench for a fallout shelter at the age of 10.
That was good planning ahead.
Love these roadside novelties.
Me too.
I used to travel to Odessa on business years ago ... I never knew this existed! :( Thanks for taking us along!
Once again Steve, you bring entertaining history mixed in with your unique humor to educate us on another out of the way place. Always look forward to what you might have next. Thank you!
He had a drone. And a camera. 1:20 is a beautiful BENCHMARK, for surveying and elevations. USGeologicalSurvey has placed all kinds coast to coast.
This might be nickle. Most are brass. Could be an iron alloy.
Interesting west Texas history ! That town had a nick name " Slowdeatha" ! Great video. Thanks !
That's not a nickname you want your town to have!
I had to smile at your little story about the hole you and your buddies (brothers? cousins?) dug at your grandfather's place. It brought to mind childhood adventures on my own grandfather's farm with my brother and my cousin. Unsupervised boys can get into no end of mischief, even on the barren plains around Odessa. But my grandfather was mostly bemused by our shenanigans. Fortunately, we never set the barn on fire.
Everything's big in Texas except the landforms.
Very interesting video. Until today I had never heard of this place.
Thank you again, Mr. Adventures! One thing I noticed in this video is the increasing sophistication of the dialog. As always your information is interesting; in this edition, though, the humor is outstanding! I can picture four boys with shovels . . . Put some of them to work reopening that shaft.
There is probably still a depression in that backyard from our hole.
Always good stuff. Great channel..
Thank you.
Great post, Steve!
Underwhelmed by the crater!
Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
Enjoyed this , including the Stonehenge replica, Thanks!
You are correct that at Stonehenge in England, you can't just walk around the stones. I was there many years ago, and that made it a bit disappointing. We also saw The Kings Men stone circle near Oxford, and that was fun. It was in a small field attached to a farm, and circled by a stone fence and larch trees. (Any Monty Python fans out there?) In Texas, that's a good use of leavings from an old stone quarry, and fun to check out the alignment of the sun throughout the year. You definitely beat the rush there at the Odessa crater museum. Your humor and story-telling just get better and better. LOL, the things kids think are a good idea.
The Larch!
A second person did show while we were walking around, but they kind of just looked at it for a minute and left.
Thanks again, Steve. I've been through Odessa a few times, never knew about this.
Texan here. Steve, I'm telling ya - you have to visit and do a segment on Adobe Walls in North Texas.
I really want to visit there. Hopefully I can get back that way soon.
I've driven past that Crater on my way to Big Bend National Park, I've always wanted to check it
Big Bend is an awesome park. Texas BIG!
another great adventure Steve 👍🏼 thank you enjoy that sunshine kid 👦🏻
Another great vacation spot, thanks for taking me along! Whenever I need 10 minutes of peace, I just turn on one of your videos! Looking forward to the next one Steve! The best thing my parents ever handed down to us kids was the love of travel!
Thank you.
Thanks for another great vid, Steve.
There's another Stone Henge monument near Maryhill State park/campground in Washington state. Once while we were camped there, my wife got up early to ride her bike up to the monument - I elected to sleep in.. When she got up there, she found a photographer and his nude model taking pictures. They all exchanged pleasantries and my wife returned to tell me her tale.
I really need to ride my bike more.
Okay, that's hilarious! Thanks for the smile. :)
I was hiking in Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas and I came upon a professional photographer, his assistant, lots of photo gear, and a couple of pretty bikini models. I took some pictures of them taking pictures and they were nice about it. The funny thing is, the models were wearing high heels - Just what all rock-climbers should wear!
I plan on visiting the one in Washington next time I'm up there.
@@SidetrackAdventures Cool! We'll try to arrange something special for you. 🤗
I love your videos, Steve! It is interesting to me that you provide so much information on a place or something that, initially, seems so nondescript. Your endeavors help to make them more important to the makeup of our great country. Thank you!
Thank you, I appreciate that.
I enjoy your videos of places off the beaten path, and especially how you linger over a shot so we can get a good look at things. Your pacing is refreshing!
I don’t live to far from Odessa Me and my sister had visited the crater. It looks more like a sand pit than a meteor crater. When we was driving to the location I was expecting something like in Arizona! Great videos.
Thank you.
Loved ya comment about what kids do when unsupervised. I bet your grandfather was not happy. Thank you for the tour of a crater. The fossilized tooth found was possibly the only thing left after the meteors hit.
He definitely wasn't happy. The last time I was in that backyard, about 7 or 8 years ago you could still tell where we had dug, so we had done some damage.
@@SidetrackAdventures hahaha. Ah, the things we did as children. Thank you Steve for sharing that with us, your followers. Most of us know's where you're coming from with that. IF ever my wife and i won a heap of money and went to America for a holiday, you and your wife would be great to meet.
Love road tripping out in West Texas.
I had a friend at work from Odessa and I learned early on to never ask him anything unless I was sitting down. He talked so slow my legs couldn't stand long enough to hear the answer.
👍 I live in Texas and was hopeful for a nice road trip. However, after paying my $30 to visit the extremely impressive crater in AZ I will not be traveling to Odessa to see this dip in the landscape. Pity I am 63,000 years too late. Thank you for saving me gas money and time.
Just FYI, there was once a very impressive oil museum between Midland and Odessa. If still there it would be worth you visiting.
Took friends there myself, and too the crater and too Monahans too the sand dunes,,, in around 1987. We had a better time the next morning getting over the drunk we pulled off in Big Spring the nite before. Population of Midland at that time said; last person too leave,,, turn out the lights.
There is a small crater in Kimble County where Hwy 377 cuts through the middle. The biology class in Junction took field trips to see it and hunt for meteorites. (Student from the class of 1960)
Glad for your excellent drone work, Steve! Sure made it easier to pick out the crater from that landscape! 😎✌️
That’s the best entertainment I’ve had all day good job keep it going
Thanks!
Nice! Love your channel..and once again, the meteorite just missed the visitor center…
Yeah, they got extremely lucky again.
I love the places and things you find, and the stories you share. Looking forward to more!
I once visited the Odessa craters as part of a geologic field trip. One big question at the time was why the craters were so shallow. The best theory I heard at teh time was that these meteorites impacted on what was at the time a muddy plain, impacting at a relatively shallow angle, minimizing the force of the impact. I haven't read any research on the subject since, what did they have to say about the origin at the visitor center?
Thank you Steve and family, very interesting features, love your background music. I always look forward to tuning in each week, I can forget about the busy world and enjoy your calm and relaxed pace adventures. Thank you
Good video steve. I sure want to go to the south west part of our country before i go. THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA.....
Thanks for visiting the Odessa meteorite impacts site Steve. Going to have to check this out it's always fun to learn about new things and the state that you're living in.
Thanks Steve for this awesome video on my birthday, you're an inspiration and I love your content! Keep doing what you're doing!
I've driven past there countless times, never even knew about the crater!
Thanks for the drone view, that was the most impressive part! Besides the knowledge you share.
As a native of Odessa, when I first heard about the crater, I had to go see this and In my mind I was picturing a deep impact crater. When I got there, there were no buildings, no parking lot , no fences and I asked, where is it? and I was told, it's in front of you! I could have walked thru it and not even know it... Nice to know the facts now and it would be worth a second visit. Thanks Steve, Great job. Hope it was worth visiting us here in West Texas.
Thank you, Steve!
Hi, Steve! You always manage to present awesome videos of unique places. It's enjoyable!
Not only is the dialog excellent, the video quality seems to be much better. New camera, Steve?
Nope, maybe it was just the lighting.
Great to see you bring attention to these wonders.🎉
I always like to visit the more off the beaten path places.
Thanks, buddy. Keep up the good work. It's appreciated.
I was there last year. It looks like an excavation site. I was glad they had the visitor center. That made it more worthwhile.
Yeah, I agree. That's what made me think about digging up my grandparent's backyard.
Steve you’re doing s long road-trip from San Diego what a nice journey you are a great narrator. Well Spoken. 👍
I was born and raised in the Texas Panhandle. After graduating college in 1972, I lived in Midland for about three years. That area is the most barren, scraggly place in have ever been. I was very glad to leave there and move to Houston!
Don't know Why some say this is the second of only two known meteor Crater after all you just said this site has two. Too bad this one is about all filled in, the recreation of the Stonehenge feature is actually pretty cool, if My Mom were still alive I definitely think she'd be wanting me to drive her there just to see that. Thanks for your interesting tour once again. Looking forward to more.
Really enjoyed your video, Steve. I wasn't going to watch this one, but your narration and video made it interesting all the way through. And your story about you four kids digging a hole made me laugh out loud. 😄 Love your channel!
Thanks!
Another cool video. Thanks Steve.
Interesting video. I visited the crater many years ago, before they built a visitor center or trail. There are many larger impact craters than Barringer in the US. According to Wikipedia, 25 of them. One of them is Upheaval Dome in southern Utah. It's accessible by car and there is a small parking lot and facilities. I have not been but it's on my bucket list. Looks like a fun hike and some beautiful scenery with many impact structures visible in the rocks.
I'm not sure why some places list only a few and others list a lot. Maybe there's some sort of dispute or some aren't officially confirmed yet.
@@SidetrackAdventures Maybe the Barringers have planted a meme to boost visits to their crater. :)
THANK YOU...VERY MUCH...CANT TRAVEL... SO I ENJOY ALL YOUR TRAVELS....& NO DIRTY TALK...CLEAN....LOYEL VIEWER....
hi steve...we have a lot more and older stone circles here in the u.k..its just that stonehenge is the biggest and in best condition..we have sea henge..off our beautiful norfolk coast with footsteps dating back 800,000 years when the north sea was land..and our east anglia coast was part of doggerland...which is the middle of the north sea now
I love the tour that you gave us. I felt like I was right along there with you seeing and learning about the site.❤
The word "underwhelmed" seems to be the best description of the crater of Odessa Texas... However, the narrator is top grade.... Good job making the mundane interesting 🤔...
Love these videos. Thanks.
I'm glad you like them. Thank you, I truly appreciate it.
Another Nice Adventure.... I enjoyed your video ! Thanks
Thanks for all the information and travels that you do
The plaque is a "compass rose".
Thanks. I somehow think the real Stonehenge doesn't have one in the center.
4:00 "In fact, the meteorite probably struck oil when it hit."
ET teenagers playing with meteors out in space: "Hey, Zed, nice shot. Bet I can make up a song about that bubblin' crude..."
Very interesting video. I think there is another crater somewhere between Las Cruces and El Paso. There's a hike out to it, but I didn't do that when I lived in the area.
Always enjoy your videos Steve
Great video Steve❣️
I didn't even know that. I used to go to Odessa quite a bit when I lived in Hobbs.
STEVE! This video had an impact and I hope the views don't crater. 😂
😶
haha Thanks!
Thanks for the video, nice.
Great little video, sir. I've been wanting to visit this for some years now, I live in the DFW area. This gives me more incentive to do so. Good job.
Thank you Sidetrack Adventures
Thank you. I truly appreciate it.
I always fall asleep to your videos. Never stop uploading you’re awesome!
Great video! Seems very accessible and well done in terms of interpretation. Will def check it out if I’m ever near there. Cheers!
Keep them Sunny videos coming. They are like medicines. Thanks.
I love seeing yall here in Texas Steve! If you can head out to Terlingua and big bend, though you could spend weeks exploring all those towns Marfa, Fort Davis, Alpine, Marathon, etc.
Well done! Carry on!
I remember when I visited the Crater back in the 60’s. Just across the highway was a small amusement park called Western Town or Cowboy Town. I remember the amusement park being much more fun than just walking down into a crater. It actually looks as if nothing has changed there.
Grew up there. 30 years ago, the Meteor Crater was maintained much better, but it looks better now than 10 years ago.
Also, some of the larger meteorites found are on display at the Ector County Library.(At least before I left.)
In West Odessa, you can only get about 3 or 4 shovels deep before you hit rock.
Takes a backhoe to do anything out there.
You make it fun. Thanks you.
Nice one. Thanks for sharing…!
lol, thanks for helping with my excitement and anxiety, great tranquilizer, look forward to your video on the number 1 crater
Interesting. Never heard of this one. Thank you for taking us along
G`morning Steve
.
Good morning!
I talked to a local who didn't even know about it when we were there.
I've been there twice. It's not far from the interstate and it's well worth the minimal time and effort it takes to see it. They have a cool visitor's center with an interesting collection of meteorites, which alone would be worth stopping to see.
Wow....a good thing that the meteor missed all structures, roads, and people!! all those 6,300 years ago.......
There is one in Washington State , that's been there for years , didn't know about this one ! Wonder how many more are in the country 🤔
This guy is a puppy compared to the Barringer Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona. Winslow crater was a 64 foot meteor leaving a 1 mile x 1 mile (square) impact site. With 3 types of meteors (iron, iron-stony, and stony) ... 1 cubic foot of iron = 491.5 pounds. This means that a 4 inch spherical iron cannon ball (or a shrapnel-shaped) meteor would be ~100 pounds. Even so, this meteor would be considered to be less than 100 pounds (biblical end times talent weighted hailstone and fire).
Thanks for taking us along to the Odessa Meteor Crater,how far east are you going on this adventure?Enjoy watching your videos some of them have been places that my dad traveled to as he was big on the south west🤗😎🤗😎
That was as far east as I went. Unfortunately I only had a few days and had to get back to California.
Nice video. Very interesting.
I was at Stonehenge in the 1970's, at that time you could walk among the stones.
Thanks for the awesome video. Without it I wouldn't have known about the Odessa Crater.
I visited the Barranger crater back in 1991. I can't remember if it was free back then, but as you mentioned a $30 entrance fee, that is quite pricy especially for large families.
Things may have changed since I was at the real Stonehenge, but our group walked all over the site, sat on the rocks, did anything we wanted. We got to it just after the visitor center closed and a security guard even met us at the site. It was worth it...and it was a guided tour.
Just checked. The tour operator was Astral Tours. I did find a review from 2006 which describes how we experienced Stonehenge. Arriving at the end of the day and walking amongst the stones. Don't even know if Astral Tours still exists, but I did find other operators who offer the same "intimate" tour of the site still. The one I found is called Viator Tours.
That was cool. Good show ❤🎉
Stonehenge II was created as an art project by the late Al Shepperd, a Hill Country Arts Foundation patron, and his neighbor Doug Hill more than 20 years ago on Shepperd’s land in nearby Hunt, Texas.
It took nine months to build and is 90 percent the height and 60 percent the width as the original. Giving free range to his fanciful notion, Shepperd added two 13-foot Easter Island head replicas for good measure.
After Shepperd’s death, the megalithic circle along with its Easter Island sidekicks needed a new home. In an effort to preserve this true Texas landmark, the sculptures were relocated stone-by-stone to their final resting place beside the Guadalupe River on the campus of the Hill Country Arts Foundation.
Stonehenge II has been visited by thousands of tourists since its inception in Hunt, Texas over 20 years ago. Bus loads of tourists as well as single out-of-towners have sought out Doug Hill’s sculpture over the years making it a worldwide attraction.
Love watching from Toronto,
Thanks! Steve🌎