One of The Largest Meteor Craters In The United States Is In Texas

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The world looked a lot different over 63,000 years ago, but an event that long ago still leaves a mark on Texas.

Despite being one of the largest meteor crater sites in the United States, not many people know about the Odessa Meteor Crater. The site was formed more than 63,000 years ago when the area was covered by water. The Odessa Meteor Crater is one of three impact crater sites that have been found in Texas. According to CBS7.com, the impact had to move a lot of water out of the way.

“And this was still a big lake so we’re roughly six to four hundred feet underwater. So it had to push a lot of water out of the way to impact the ground. So it became a rainy day very quickly” said Douglas Naetherlin, Museum Curator

While it was formed thousands of years ago, the crater wasn't discovered until 1892. There are actually 5 craters at the Odessa site and it's been reported that over 1500 meteorites have been recovered from the area. The Odessa Meteor Crater at one point was estimated to be 100 ft. deep. However, due to filling, wind, erosion, and back fill, the crater site is now only about 6-8 ft. deep according to NewsWest9.

The good news? You can visit the Odessa Meteor Crater site and Museum and take a tour. While it may not be as dramatic as the Barringer Crater in Arizona, it is still pretty cool and part of our history.