Campo Del Cielo // Ver. II

The Campo del Cielo iron meteorites were discovered in 1571 about 500 miles northwest of Buenos Aries, Argentina. Testing proved the 'rocks' to be meteorites.

It is estimated that the meteorites fell 4,000-6,000 years ago at Campo del Cielo (meaning field of sky or heaven) in Gran Chaco, Gualambia, giving credence to the fact that this was a fall rather than a meteorite find, especially since larger pieces were found in and around a series of small craters in a field. Twelve very large craters have been found by searchers. The largest Campo meteorite weighs about 30 tons; understandably, it is one of Argentina's national treasures.

This meteorite, when sliced, polished, and acid etched, shows lines known as the widmanstatten pattern, the tell-tale sign of a "metal space rock." Also, Campo meteorites are well known for their silicate inclusions.

For centuries, specimens were found in the lowland immersed in damp soil. This specimen is one of a recent find at the mountainside away from the original strewn field, known to collectors as a "new Campo." The new location has no standing water, making these meteorites much more stable than the earlier finds. This is a Group IA iron meteorite classed as a coarse octahedrite. On average, the composition is 92.5% iron, 6.68% nickel, and many different trace elements. There are a number of scarce minerals found in it as well, including kamacite, taenite, plessite, triolite, as well as graphite, and silicates.