The Odessa Meteor Crater

If you happen to find yourself in the Midland/Odessa area, you may want to check out the Odessa Meteor Crater in western Ector County. This meteor crater happens to be the second largest in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. Sadly, wind and rain have filled in what was once a 500ft wide, 100ft deep crater so that now it is only 15 ft deep at its lowest point. While the crater is not much to look at anymore, it has an interesting history and is a worthy place to spend a little of your time.

The Odessa Meteor Crater was actually formed during a meteor shower, as scientists have discovered four smaller craters in addition to the main impact crater. Although many tons of meteorite material has been found in and around the crater, the main impact meteor which formed the crater (believed to have weighed over 1000 tons) has not been found. It is believed that this meteor was mostly vaporized on impact, while ejecting some debris out of the crater and burying some at the bottom.

For thousands of years, the crater slowly filled up, unnoticed by anyone. By the time that people first started finding meteor rocks in Ector country in 1920, it was pretty much filled in completely. In 1926, D. M. Barringer was the first person to identify the Odessa Meteor Crater as being a genuine impact crater. This must have been exciting news as it made the Odessa crater only the second impact crater to be identified in the United States at that time.

Much excavation and study soon followed. It was believed that there must be an enormous meteor at the bottom of the crater. Therefore, attempts were made in 1939. To do this, engineers dug a 165 foot vertical shaft down the heart of the crater. Unfortunately, nothing was ever found. Scientists have since discovered that the reason for this is quite simple. The meteor was traveling so fast when it hit the ground that it vaporized on impact.

The shaft has since been sealed off. Legend says that this is because someone tossed a lit tumbleweed down the timber supported shaft in the 1950s. Apparently, they were trying to get a better look at what was down there. In any event, the shaft is no longer in use.