Meet Me at Meteor Crater!

It takes your breath, standing at the edge of this colossal bowl-shaped basin, 550 feet deep, carved into the high desert of Arizona. Though Route 66 and busy Interstate 40 pass through not far away, you suddenly find yourself transported to a completely different, prehistoric moment in time, one 50,000 years ago.

A giant iron chunk of asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour passed through earth’s atmosphere and collided with our planet at this exact location, now famously known as Meteor Crater, leaving behind a great explosion of smoke, dust, and compressing the terrain into this incredible feature. In addition to trails that tour the crater’s rim, the Meteor Crater Interactive Discovery Center explores the history and creation of this amazing landscape. Can you imagine the shock on the faces of ancient peoples as the fiery fury of an asteroid weighing hundreds of thousands of tons burst through their sky, spitting flames? And what upheaval it caused!

One of many classic Route 66 Arizona Attractions, Meteor Crater is a must do!