Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest & Painted Desert

Friday  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest and The Painted Desert   Some 50,000 years ago, a brilliant meteor hurtling about 35,000 miles per hour passed through our atmosphere and in a blinding flash struck the rocky plain with a force more than 20 million tons of TNT. And within a few seconds it left this giant bowl shaped cavity.  This crater is still in the middle of no where.  The topographical terrain of this area so closely resembles that of the earth's moon and other planets, NASA designated it as an official training site for all Apollo astronauts. From there we drove to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, which is a National Park.  We were listening to the radio, country music with the host and commercial in the language of Navajo. It was a scenic drive with snow capped mountains on the high plains, elevation about 6000. The  28 mile park road has lots of overlooks and parking areas with access to hiking trails.    Some  of the most colorful petrified wood deposits found in the park were in The Giant Logs Trail.  They ask that you stay on the designated trails and leave everything as you found it.   Our next stop is Gallup, N.M.  Catch you all later.

The Meteor Crater is so big that 20 football games could be played at the same time on this crater floor, while over two million fans watch from the sloping walls of the impact site.  550 feet deep and 4,100 feet across.

 Distinct white layers are sandstone. The cap is clay.  Dark layers are caused by high carbon content.  Darker reds are iron-stained siltstone.  Sorry don't have time to describe each picture.