I’m glad having you around here today, the Willamette Meteorite, at 15.5 tons, it is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. It’s also one of the treasures of the American Museum of the Natural History’s permanent collection is a large piece of extra- terrestrial rock called the Willamette Meteorite.

The Willamette Meteorite is made up of iron and nickel, and like all others, it was formed many years back when the solar system was still forming out of cosmic dust. The force of gravity made these dust particles to come together to form protoplanets and heavier metals like iron and nickel sank into the interior to form the core. This protoplanet must have collided with another planetary body, causing it to fracture, sending rocks rich in iron and nickel out into space.

Centuries back, moving glaciers slowly moved the meteorite to Montana to the vicinity of an ice barrier that had formed across the fork River. This barrier had ponded a huge amount of water at the lake Missoula. As the meteorite reached the area, the ice dam crumbled releasing one of the largest floods ever documented. Hooked on ice, the meteorite floated down the Columbia River until it’s ice case broke and the meteorite sank into the River bottom near the modern day city of Portland.

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