Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Number of Meteorites Found In Each State. Source: Washington University in St. Louis web site linked below. |
If you've been reading this blog over the years, you know that I disuss a variety of things. I've talked hunting bottles, fossils, sea glass and all kind of things. Today I'm going to get into something that I've mentioned a few times before but never discussed in much detail.
Have you ever found a meteorite? I know detectorists on the Treasure Coast who say they've found a meteorite on the beach. Maybe they have. I don't know. It is possible, but certainly would not be common occurrence.
There used to be a TV series that followed a couple of guys who traveled around and looked for meteorites with their metal detectors. They were very successful too. They knew where to go and traveled the world. I liked watching that program for some strange reason.
I know that there are some readers of this blog who live in other parts of the country and do hunt meteorites. I heard from one not long ago.
Anyhow, I found some good web sites that will help determine if that odd looking stone that gives a signal is really a meteorite.
First, what are the chances? In Florida, very very slim. The map at the top of the post shows how many meteorites have been found in each state. excluding Alaska and Hawaii, both of which have very few.
Here is the link to that web site. http://meteorites.wustl.edu/numbers_by_state.htm
And here is what that site says.
Many of the meteorites were found as multiple stones, sometimes years apart. The total number of individual stones is not known but is probably several times the number of meteorites. (By convention, if a meteoroid breaks apart in the atmosphere or when it hits the earth, all the fragments are considered a single meteorite with one name.)
The earliest find is Havana, an iron meteorite that was found by native Americans in prehistoric times and made into beads. The beads were later found in the Dickson Mounds archaeological site near Havana, Illinois, in the 1940's.
Bottom line: Only 1671 meteorites have been found and verified in the U.S. in the past 206 years. That's 7.6 per year.
There have been 154 observed and recovered meteorite falls in the U.S. in the past 206 years. The first was Weston (Connecticut) in 1807.
The Washington University web site is excellent and will help you determine if your item is or is not a meterorite. The site is very clear and has a lot of references, links, photos, examples, etc. It tells you what to look for and what to do.
Here is a link that will take you to a great table that sums up much of the other stuff.
http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm
That site has enough information to help you qualify or disqualify suspected meteorites. Take a look.
The Florida environment makes is not particularly conducive to finding meteorites. If a meteorite falls in the vast Everglades, for example, it would likely never be found because of the swamps and thick vegetation.
If you do a little research I'm sure you can find out where in Florida meteorites have been found.
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The largest cave in the world was found in Vietnam in the 1991. It was featured on GMA this morning. New fossil species were found. Very interesting. Check it out.
http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/02/24/the-largest-cave-in-the-world-complete-with-its-own-river-jungle-and-climate/
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On the Treasure Coast it looks like more of the same. Small surf and south or east winds. That won't change things real soon.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
