Let's See Some Meteorites!

[Lunk]

There's not a lot of activity on the meteorite forum, so I thought I'd start a new thread to hopefully jump-start things. It's an invitation for forum members to post pics and/or stories of theirs or others meteorite finds.

When I'm not hunting gold, I'm chasing meteorites. There's nothing quite like finding a rock that is literally out of this world.

For meteorites that I have had classified, I've included links to their entries in the Meteoritical Society's catalog of officially recognized meteorites. They are cold finds; for those not familiar with the terminology, a cold find is newly discovered meteorite that is not part of any known fall or strewn field. So enjoy, and lets see some meteorites!

 

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=Diablo+Pass&sfor=names&ants=&falls=&valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=name&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&snew=0&pnt=Normal table&code=35516

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=Quartzsite&sfor=names&ants=&falls=&valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=name&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&snew=0&pnt=Normal table&code=35634

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=Imlay&sfor=names&ants=&falls=&valids=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=name&categ=All&mblist=All&rect=&phot=&snew=0&pnt=Normal table&code=52855

I'll have more to share later...

[Lunk]

Another cold find from northern Nevada. I was detecting for gold nuggets with my GPX 5000 along a narrow wash that had lots of exposed bedrock. Upon hearing a moderate signal, I looked down and instantly recognized the small meteorite; you'll notice in the pic how it stands out from the surrounding soil and rocks. I'll never have this one classified because it's a complete individual; cutting it would ruin it. 

[fredmason]

nice chrondrites, Lunk...many gold hunters would toss those away.

this is my only Oz meteorite found near Halls Creek and on loan at the Bathurst Observatory, Australia.

fred

[DolanDave]

Fred and Lunk,

  Very nice pieces, and finds. I have quite a collection, with a cold find. My largest find is a 17 pound found in Gold Butte, Nevada.

Dave

[Lunk]

Great find, Fred!  Those fine flow features are fantastic...looks like it was oriented. Thanks for sharing. 

[Lunk]

7 minutes ago, DolanDave said:

My largest find is a 17 pound found in Gold Butte, Nevada.

Wow. That's a huge space rock, Dave - congrats! Those others wouldn't happen to be Nininger meteorites in your photo, would they?

[Lunk]

A few years ago I was detecting in the Franconia strewn field in Mohave County, Arizona. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a reddish orange rock that stood out in stark contrast from the surrounding light-colored soil. After careful excavation, I was holding the largest meteorite I've found to date. 

 

[fredmason]

yes, it pays to be specking while detecting...very nice!

fred

[DolanDave]

Nice Franconia Lunk....

  Don't those suckers sometimes just stick out like a sore thumb.....

Dave.

[Lunk]

Here are a  few more of the meteorites I've found within the Franconia strewn field.

This is a "puzzle" meteorite; several fragments that fit together. They were all excavated from the same dig hole:

 

This beautiful individual stone was hidden in plain sight among some basalt boulders:

 

This nifty little chondrite was also nestled between basalt boulders:

 

This small individual was found while revisiting an area in the small end of the strewn field, an area that a friend and I first detected for gold nuggets in 1999. We didn't find any gold, but each of us did find a handful of small "hot rocks" that we tossed aside. Had we known then what stony meteorites were, we may have been the first to discover the strewn field: