The Gibeon strewn field
One of the largest strewn fields on Earth: a prehistoric shower of fine-patterned iron across southern Namibia.
Key facts
- Fell
- prehistoric; first reported in the 1830s
- Where
- around Gibeon, Hardap region, Namibia
- Recovered
- about 26 tonnes
- Field
- an oval some 100 kilometres wide and a few hundred kilometres long
- Type
- Iron, IVA
The fall
Nobody saw Gibeon fall. A large iron meteoroid broke apart over what is now southern Namibia long before written records, and the Nama people later used its metal for tools and weapons. Samples reached Europe in the 1830s, where they were confirmed as meteoritic iron.
The ellipse
Gibeon's pieces are spread over an enormous oval, usually estimated at around 100 to 120 kilometres wide and a few hundred kilometres long, one of the largest strewn fields known. No craters survive; any that formed have long since been worn away.
Where the big and small pieces landed
Well over a hundred masses are known, from small pieces to irons of several hundred kilograms, with a total of about 26 tonnes. Between 1911 and 1913, 33 large masses were brought to Windhoek; a group of them is now displayed in the city as a national monument.
The law
Namibia protects its meteorites as national heritage. They should not be removed from where they lie, and export needs official permission. Gibeon in shops and jewellery is generally old material collected before today's protection.
Related pages
Glossary: Strewn field, Strewn field map, Fusion crust, Meteorite ownership