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The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17973903609)
Summary
Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo17amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library
Text Appearing Before Image:
COLLECTIONS OF METEORITES IN AMERICAN MUSEUM 31 panwion and coiitraetiou of the mass just as joint planes are developed in rocks of the earth's crust, or, that they were developed at the time of the fall by impact. The iron meteorites have a thinner crust or skin than the stone meteorites. The iron skin has a metallic luster and is not so black as the crust of the aerolite. The interior of these specimens, like the aerolites, was not affected by their passage through the zone of fire, the atmosphere, for their texture is unaltered up to the very skin. In some iron meteorites peculiar crosslines known as "Widmanstatten" or "Neumann lines" may be etched on a polished surface by a weak solution of nitric acid. For some time it was supposed that this was a sure way of identifying meteorites, but there are a num- ber of siderite meteorites in the collection which cannot be etched. Their outer sur- faces may be chiseled into a nose, rounded, or pitted, depending upon whether they turned over in their rapid flight. The most striking instance in the Museum of a pro- tuberance shaped in this manner by the compresse<l oxygen flame on a siderite, is the large Willamette, Oregon, specimen. The back side of the specimen is rough and deeply scarred, while the front has a rounded, pitted, and fluted surface. There is also in another one of the alcove cases on the east side of the hall of geology and invertebrate paleontology one of the tliree collections of material which have been gathered from Meteor Crater. This exhibit has been placed here through the courtesy of I'rineeton University, and of Mr. D. M. Bar- ringer, of Philadelphia. Another exhibit is at the United States National Museum, Washington, and a third one at the Crater itself, in Coconino County, Arizona. Some years ago a company was organized under the direction of Mr. Barringer, which surveyed the site and sank drill holes in the bottom of the Crater to depths greater than five hundred feet. The products of the drill- ing, samples of the sedimentary rock, meta- morphosed sandstone, shale balls, Canyon Diablo meteorites, and ejected rock frag- ments are on exhibition. A booklet written by Mr. Barringer containing a number of maps, photographs, and descriptive text accompanies the exhibit. On an average of once a week the Museum is called upon to examine supposed meteor- itic material, but in most instances we are obliged to tell the expectant visitor that his specimen is some other kind of rock. It should be noted that if the thin metallic skin or black crust is absent, the specimen is in all probability not a meteorite. Chester A. Reeds.
Text Appearing After Image:
Rear view of the Willamette meteorite to show the effects of the flames, whipped backward in the speed of the flight and the fierceness of the burning. This meteorite, now in Memorial Hall of the Amer- ican Museum, was found in Willamette Valley, near Oregon City, Oregon, November 9, 1906. (See the back of the cover for another view of this meteorite)
It is the largest meteorite found in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. There was no impact crater at the discovery site; researchers believe the meteorite landed in what is now Canada or Montana, and was transported as a glacial erratic to the Willamette Valley during the Missoula Floods at the end of the last Ice Age (~13,000 years ago). It has long been held sacred by indigenous peoples of the Willamette Valley, including the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (CTGRC). The meteorite is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which acquired it in 1906. Having been seen by an estimated 40 million people over the years, and given its striking appearance, it is among the most famous meteorites. In 2005, the CTGRC sued to have the meteorite returned to their control, ultimately reaching an agreement that gave the tribe access to the meteorite while allowing the museum to keep it as long as they are exhibiting it.
AI Findings
The American Museum Journal c1900-1918
New York City, USA
A vintage journal cover depicting a Native American man in traditional clothing and headdress, standing in a landscape with mountains in the background.
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