Old Woman meteorite, Sheep Camp Spring, Old Woman District, Old Woman Mountains, San Bernardino County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Old Woman meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Sheep Camp Spring	Spring
Old Woman District	Mining District
Old Woman Mountains	Mountain Range
San Bernardino County	County
California	State
USA	Country

Iron meteorite, octahedrite (IIAB, Ogg)
Found, 1976; 2.753 tons

Based on the geographic coordinates provided this find was 2.1 km (1.3 miles) WNW of Sheep Camp Spring. This location is substantially S of Essex.

Two prospectors discovered a large mass S of Essex on a mountain side in the Old Woman Mountains. To their dismay, the meteorite was found on U. S. Federal Lands and they could not profit from their find and, after a court battle, the meteorite landed under the formal control of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Examination of a very large 174 kg research slice revealed a very unusual surface consisting of a single cubic kamacite crystal occupying 85% of its surface accompanied by a ~ 15% section replete with coarse octahedrally oriented kamacite grains. While formally it is usually labelled as a very coarse octahedrite, the meteorite appears to be a very unusual hexahedrite-octahedrite blend. Some variations in the octahedral textures are due, in part, to pre-terrestrial shocks and annealing processes. In spite of the octahedral structure, however, no taenite has been reported. Schreibersite is quite prominent as a minor accessory with lesser amounts of troilite and daubréelite also present.

Old Woman is the largest meteorite in the U.S. National Collection and is the second most massive IIAB iron. While the main mass is indeed under the formal control of the Smithsonian, 2.3 tons of the meteorite is on long-term display in California at a Bureau of Land Management Discovery Center.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References