Namibia boasts both the
worlds largest known single meteorite and the largest meteorite field ever
discovered.
The Hoba meteorite (above) is the
largest in the world. The meteorite was discovered by a farmer in 1920 while
plowing a field. It weighs 66 tons, and is nine feet long, nine feet, wide, and
three feet think. It is believed to have fallen to Earth over 80,000 years ago.
The Gibeon meteorite field
is the largest ever discovered. It covers over 9,610 square miles. The meteor
shower which caused the field occurred over 600 million years ago and deposited
over 150 meteorites. A display of 33 meteorite pieces is on exhibit at Post St
Mall in Windhoek. These specimens have been aged to over 4 billion years old. The image above depicts a slice from one of the Gibeon
-Stephanie Sila
Is there any known reason why Namibia hosts some of the largest meteorites in the world? Why that location in particular? - Elizabeth
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