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ALLENDE
CV3.2
IRON METEORITES
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A small percentage of stones shows strong ablative shaping due to oriented flight. The elongate strewnfield possibly exceeds 300 km2 in area, making Allende the largest recorded stony meteorite fall both in its areal extent and in total weight of recovered meteorites.
The Allende meteorite fell near Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, between 0105 and 0110 Central Standard Time on Saturday, 8 February 1969. The fireball approached from the south-southwest (S37°W), and broke up in the atmosphere, producing thousands of fusion-crusted meteoritic stones. The smallest individuals were recovered 4 km east of Rancho Polanco (26°432 N, 105°282 W), and the largest near, Rancho El Cairo (27°062 N, 105°122 W), some 50 km to the north-northeast across the Parral-Jiminéz highway.
Specimen size increases generally as one moves to the north-northeast within the field, and many large specimens (5-15 kg) were recovered in and around the area enclosed by Pueblito de Allende, San Juan, Rancho Blanco, and Santa Ana. At least two tons of meteoritic stones have been recovered, with crusted individuals ranging in weight from approximately 1 g to one individual of 110 kg. Specimen shapes are mainly fragmental, due to one major disruption of the parent body, followed by minor subsequent fragmentation. Individual stones have primary and secondary fusion crust, and some fresh fracture surfaces due to late-stage breaking.
68 gram individual with fresh crust and slight soil stains. Click image to see more photos and information.