Campo del Cielo
Key facts
- Country
- Argentina
- Diameter
- 100 m
- Age
- about 4,000 to 4,500 years
- Location
- 27.63° S, 61.70° W
A line of shallow, often water-filled hollows in the flat scrubland of the Gran Chaco, northern Argentina. Some of the largest masses are displayed at a small visitor area.
Campo del Cielo, meaning 'field of the sky', is a field of at least 20 small craters in the Gran Chaco plains of northern Argentina, made by a shower of iron meteorites. It has produced more meteoritic iron than almost any other site on Earth.
The fall. About 4,000 to 4,500 years ago, a large iron meteoroid broke apart as it plunged through the atmosphere. The fragments struck the ground along a strip about 3 km wide and more than 18 km long, digging craters up to about 100 m across. The age comes from radiocarbon dating of charcoal from burnt wood found beneath material thrown out of the craters.
The meteorite. The iron belongs to the IAB group, a family of iron meteorites that often contain small inclusions of silicate rock. Many tonnes have been recovered, including masses of more than 30 tonnes, among the heaviest meteorites ever found. Local people knew of the iron long before Spanish colonists arrived, and in the sixteenth century Spanish expeditions went searching for what they hoped was a vast silver or iron mine.
Proof. The craters are directly linked to the fall by the meteorite fragments found in and around them, and by their shape and arrangement in a line, as expected from a meteoroid that broke up in flight.
Why it matters. Campo del Cielo is one of the best examples on Earth of a crater field made by a breaking-up iron meteoroid.
Protection. Meteorites at Campo del Cielo are protected by Argentine law, and removing them is illegal. Visit the display areas and respect local rules.
Did you know?
Some of the masses recovered at Campo del Cielo weigh more than 30 tonnes.
The craters lie along a strip more than 18 km long.
Spanish expeditions searched for the iron in the sixteenth century.