This space shuttle image encompasses an area of approximately 3,600 square kilometres within the semi-arid high plains east of Flagstaff, Arizona, in the United States, and illustrates how conspicuous the 1.2-kilometre-diameter Meteor Crater is from space. The mid-morning sun illuminates the western rim of the crater, while the eastern rim is in shadow. The ejecta blanket is visible as a pale halo surrounding the crater and contrasts markedly with the darker sedimentary rocks of the high plains. The Little Colorado River is visible in the upper right. The arcuate line extending across the image just north of the crater is the Interstate 40 highway. Immediately to the left of the crater is Canyon Diablo. The dark, irregular features located southeast of the crater are basaltic flows that have been deposited onto the sedimentary rocks of the Colorado Plateau during the last few million years. Rim diameter: 1.2 kilometres. Age: 49,000 ± 3000 years. Meteor Crater is one of the best-known impact craters in the world. It can be seen just slightly west of the centre of this near-vertical photograph. Although the crater is only 1,200 metres in diameter and nearly 180 metres deep, it is very conspicuous in this photograph because of the contrast between its bright rim – 30–46 metres high – and the surrounding darker plain of sedimentary rock. The crater is believed to have been formed nearly 50,000 years ago. The dry riverbed of the Little Colorado River is visible east-northeast of the crater. The small city of Winslow, Arizona, is visible on the west bank of the river. Two large buttes can be seen southeast of the crater. The butte farther from the centre is Chevelon Butte, more than 2,100 metres high; it is situated between Clear Creek to its west and Chevelon Creek to its east. To the south of Meteor Crater and the buttes, the dark forested areas of the Mogollon Rim are visible.
NASA image STS040-614-058
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