In the Field

Meteorites are where you find them—all over the world. They can be anywhere on the planet for Earth is constantly being bombarded by rocks from space. Most, of course, are lost to the oceans. The vast majority are never recovered but weather away until they become completely terrestrialized. Other meteorites are trapped in glacial ice in Antarctica where they have been harvested by international teams of scientists for decades. As of 2000, more than 20,000 meteorites had been found there. None of these meteorites are available to the collector. The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1952, became effective in 1961, and has since been ratified by more than 100 nations. In 1992, a Recommendation was adopted to protect all geological specimens, including meteorites, from private collection.

But there are plenty of places where there are no restrictions on meteorite hunting. If you are free spirited, you may want to explore remote areas. In the continental United States the best hunting ground is in the southwestern part of the Mojave desert of southern California, where vegetation is relatively sparse and the climate is dry. Look for an old surface, one that has been exposed for a long time. Old dry lakes can be a good place to search. Many meteorites have been found in Rosamond, Muroc, and Lucerne dry lakes, among others. Or you might begin by searching well-known strewn fields such as those around Glorieta Mountain in New Mexico, or Holbrook and Franconia, in Arizona. Another good location is Gold Basin, Arizona where thousands of stony meteorites have been recovered over the past decade or so (Figure 10.1).