The Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona was the first recognized terrestrial impact crater. The confirmation of a meteor impact (subsequently identified as the Canyon Diablo meteorite) at the site proved an important stepping-stone for advances in geology and astronomy. In solving the mystery surrounding the origin of the Barringer crater, geologists and astronomers made substantial progress in understanding the dynamic interplay of gradual and cataclysmic geologic processes both on Earth and on extra-terrestrial bodies.

Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The Barringer Meteorite Crater (originally named Coon Butte or Coon Mountain) rises 150 feet above the floor of the surrounding Arizona desert. The impact crater itself is almost a mile wide and 570 feet deep. Among geologists, two competing theories were most often asserted to explain the geologic phenomena. Before the nature of hot spots or plate tectonic theory would...