THE GREAT DIVIDE BASIN CRATER

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:

the Great Divide Basin crater

by 

Randy Gene Johnson

977 Dayshia Lane

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007-9168

Copyright © Randy Gene Johnson 2013

All Rights Reserved

ABSTRACT

            This research paper is based upon findings from Google Earth, Google Maps and from personal observations. Within this document, I will show evidence that at one time, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming were struck by a meteorite and that it created a large crater nearly 200 miles in diameter. My research will show several signs of a fierce impact within the boundaries of the crater.

            Using Google Earth and Google Maps, We will see that the crater is highly visible from space and down to a view of just the area in question. The latter view will demonstrate the destruction that the area has experienced.

With the assistance of Google Earth, elevation profiles will be made to indicate the debris field and confirm that the meteor impact was from the West North West and it left debris to the East South East. These elevation profiles will show that debris was left in several states. I will show proof that the debris can actually be viewed today.

             I will also show that this impact may be dated by fossil record. Beyond fossils, this meteorite also gave Wyoming much of its natural resources.

This Research Paper is dedicated to my family

Pamela A. Johnson, my wife, who stands beside me through rough times;

Doris L. Johnson, my mother, who never doubted my interests;

Merle F. Johnson, my father, who taught me to think out of the box;

E. W. “Jim” Beckman, my grandfather, who showed me to always look on the other side of the rock.

1. INTRODUCTION

            My name is Randy Johnson. I am not a geologist but I have always been fascinated with geology. Having grown up in Wyoming, I have wondered at the beautiful and vast intensity of the exposed geological features this state has. Often I really wonder just how certain features in Wyoming came about. There are a few areas that stand out as showing some major geological changes that show a violent past. An abrupt up thrust in the sedimentary rocks exposed along Interstate 80 just east of Rock Springs is just the start of my query.

Figure 1, Ridge Just East Of Rock Springs

2. THE QUERY CONTINUES

            Other areas of Wyoming show more clues to a violent past in the state.

2.1 Muddy Gap Area

The angle of the sedimentary rocks coming out of the ground just south of Muddy Gap has always caught my attention.

Figure 2, Sedimentary Rocks At An Angle

What force could cause these rocks break away from the Earth and shove them out of the ground like this? I have always questioned how these rocks ended up resting at such an angle. Could there be some fault here that has twisted them? Could a fault be so short to only affect this local area? Every time that I drove past these rocks my mind went through several scenarios of what could cause this up lifting.

Figure 3, Major Uplift Near Muddy Gap

2.2 Ferris Mountains

            Very close to this uplift are the Ferris Mountain’s. They can be seen in the background of Figure 3. This short range also shows signs of a violent past. Along the side of the range is a large outcrop of limestone “fins”. These fins are known as the Madison Formation and extend nearly the entire length of the Ferris Range.

Figure 4, Ferris Mountains Madison Formation

Just what type of force was used to push all this limestone up and out of this mountain?  This must have been something very powerful!  

Figure 5, Ferris Mountain Range

3. COLORADO AND UTAH SHOWS SOME DISTURBANCES AS WELL

            Although being southeast of the visible crater, A National Monument in Colorado and Utah reveals more clues to a violent past. A very major occurrence is now visible at Dinosaur National Monument.

Figure 6, Mitten Park Fault

3.1 Mitten Park Fault

Located along the Green River, the Mitten Park Fault shows a major force that actually buckles the sedimentary layers into a vertical attitude. Being surrounded by fairly level sedimentary makes these features cry out “What could cause this”.

Figure 7, Split Mountain

3.2 Split Mountain

            Only 15 miles southeast, once again among normal flat sedimentary appears another great sloping section of heavily tilted sedimentary layers. As Split Mountain repeats the same pattern viewed near Muddy Gap in Wyoming.

Figure 8, Split Mountain Panorama

Split Mountain dives down into the earth creating a very spectacular view.

Figure 9, Split Mountain Ends

3.2 Fortification Rocks

            Another vertical anomaly can be found 77 miles east-northeast of Dinosaur National Monument. This formation is easily dismissed due to its size but it falls right into location near the rim of the crater. This range of rocks is nearly 2 miles long and has been contributed to volcanic action. Located along Highway 13 between Craig, Colorado and Baggs, Wyoming, sits an outcrop of vertical rocks known as Fortification Rocks.

 

Figure 10 Fortification Rocks

            Hardly noticeable but this range sits West to East and fits into the rim area of the crater. It’s a single anomaly but when added with all the other evidence found in the rim areas, they all tie together to point out an area of massive disturbance.

             

Figure 11, Fortification Rocks Side View

            Once again we have seen the evidence of the disturbance but what makes it identifiable as a crater? The next step is if it can really be viewed as a crater.

4. INTRODUCING, THE GREAT DIVIDE BASIN CRATER

            It takes a little looking but it is there. Visible from even such a distant view of the Earth as provided from Google Earth, there is a lighter colored round spot visible in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. If you look to the right of the Great Salt Lake, it’s there.

Figure 12, View Using Google Earth

4.1 Viewed from Space.

This is an untouched screen shot from using Google Earth. Did you spot it? Just to confirm the location, Figure 13, has an arrow pointing to it.

Figure 13, Same View With Arrow Pointing To Round Spot

            Does that somewhat round spot that is much lighter in color than its surroundings make you wonder? Once you notice the spot, it starts to be very noticeable whenever this location is viewed. Even Bing Maps indicate the spot with a world view.

Figure 14, Spot View Using Bing Maps

            Even with no state outlines, the spot is quite visible if you look for it.

Figure 15, Same View With Arrow Pointing To Spot

            These Bing Maps images actually enhance the eastern rim of the crater.

Figure 16, A Closer View From Google Earth Clearly Showing The Round Spot

4.2 A Closer Look.

            Using Google Earth, this is a closer view with the states outlined.  The closer the view starts to really point out the spot. This view also asks quite a few questions. One question I’ve always wondered is why the Wind River Range in Fremont County, Wyoming, was cut off from the Rockies in Colorado by the Red Desert in southern Wyoming?

Figure 17, Same View From Google Earth With The Spot Circled

4.3 Using Google Maps.

            Using Google Maps, the much closer view in Figures 18 and 19 really starts to show the size of the spot. With a diameter of over 200 miles, the spot really starts to look more like a crater.

Figure 18, View Using Google Maps Clearly Showing The Lighter Colored Spot

Figure 19 Same View From Google Maps With The Spot Circled

Figure 20, The Great Divide Basin Crater

4.4 Portrait Of The Great Divide Basin Crater.

            The view in figure 20, using Google Maps completely defines the Great Divide Basin Crater and shows the destruction of the impact. The discoloration of the majority of the area is very distinctive. The area just southeast of South Pass, Wyoming shows the dark hue of the red soil and then it turns to a soft pastel and even the greenery turns pale.

4.5 Putting All Of The Pieces Together.

            Using Google Earth to view the figure locations around the Great Divide Basin Crater indicates a somewhat circular pattern. From the angled sedimentary rocks near Muddy Gap, and the limestone fins on the Ferris Mountain Range to the North, swing to the southwest and see the ridge in the sedimentary rocks near Rock Springs. South of the ridge, much is shown in Dinosaur National Monument with its Mitten Park Fault and Split Mountain. Working east finds Fortification Rocks north of Craig, Colorado.

Figure 21, Figure Locations

5. WHERE IS THE CRATER RIM

            We have all viewed the typical rim of a crater, but why isn’t there a crater around the Great Divide Basin crater? Most craters are from a meteorite strike coming into the Earth at close to 90 degrees or nearly vertical. My investigation has found that this meteorite actually came at a much lesser angle. From the debris field, this impact was from something striking the Earth coming in north of the Great Salt Lake and crashed traveling east southeast. Below is an untouched screen shot from using Google Maps showing the crater and to the east, the debris field.

 

Figure 22, View Of Crater And Debris Field  

            When I initially looked into where the debris could be found, I focused on eastern Wyoming, northern Colorado and the western region of Nebraska between the North and South Platte rivers. I looked at the elevation profiles along the Wyoming/Nebraska border and found the plateau I was expecting. 

Figure 23, Elevation Profile North To South

            I then decided as more proof to do a much longer profile to show this thought was correct and show the flatter regions beyond the expected debris field. An Elevation Profile was made once again along the Wyoming/Nebraska state border going from just south of the Black Hills of South Dakota to the southern border of Colorado. Instead of confirming my idea of the location of the debris field, this profile opened my eyes to the true extent of the debris field.

5.1 Much Larger Than Expected

The longer profile revealed the crater rim and indicated a much enlarged area than I had expected. The previous view from the North Platte River to the South Platte River was only about a third of what I was searching for. The actual location from this profile showed the field originating near the Nebraska Border with South Dakota and lead south to central Colorado. My simple idea of a small debris field has now grown to quite large proportions. This confirmed I would need to go to much further lengths to find the true boundary of how far the ground had been displaced from this impact.

Figure 24, Longer Elevation Profile North To South

Figure 25, Much Longer Elevation Profile North To South

Again I lengthened the elevation profile to now come from the border from North Dakota and South Dakota down to the southern border of New Mexico. This profile was long enough to make confirmation of the rim boundaries of the debris pile. The Northern Rim lies almost due east of the top of the crater and the Southern Rim matches with being a bit farther south. This view widened the area of debris thrown out from the impact to now include a majority of the state of Nebraska and large portions of Colorado and Kansas.

5.2 Multiple Elevation Profiles

Since the much longer profile indicated better detail, I then made six other elevation profiles to compare with the original that followed the eastern Wyoming border.

Figure 26, Locations Of The Seven Elevation Profiles

            These elevation profiles are numbered Profile 1 to Profile 6 and run from the west to the east.

Figure 27, Elevation Profile Number 1

Figure 28, Elevation Profile Number 2

Figure 29, Elevation Profile Number 3

Figure 30, Elevation Profile Number 4

Figure 31, Elevation Profile Number 5

Figure 32, Elevation Profile Number 6

6. WHAT MAKES THIS THE DEBRIS FIELD

            Since this impact occurred several million years ago, proof that the debris is hard to find.  There is an area in Wyoming that has mystified a lot of people, but when it’s realized how these strange formations were formed, it is very obvious that this is debris from a very serious impact. Let us look into why these boulders are just sitting up there as if they have been placed there.

Figure 33, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

6.1 Vedauwoo Rocks

            Known for being one of the greatest rock climbing locations in the world, Vedauwoo is located 30 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, just off Interstate 80.

Figure 34, Vedauwoo Map

Any internet search of Vedauwoo will show some wondrous pictures and the endless question of what happened to form this area. With the idea of a possible meteorite impact west of this area, I think of it as just the beginning and confirmation of a giant debris field. The next two figures 35 and 36 will bring focus to the Vedauwoo area. Figures 37 to 41 shows the area and focuses upon the large boulder placements found throughout the area.  Looking onto the large mass of rocks, I even wonder if the large stadium sized, were originally somewhere west of their current location.

Figure 35, Vedauwoo Exit

Figure 36, Vedauwoo Rocks Arial View

            Figure 36 is a close up of Turtle Rock, the main rock structure at Vedauwoo.

Figure 37, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

Figure 38, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

Figure 39, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

       

Figure 40, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

Figure 41, Vedauwoo Rocks, Wyoming

 

Figure 42, Climbing Vedauwoo Rocks

            As visible in figure 42, we can see that these are some very large rocks and have mostly vertical and wide cracks that make them such a climber’s paradise.  A longer study brings up questions of the cause of the cracks.  Just to the left of the climbers shows cracks that appear to be caused from some type of impact slivering the bottom left corner of this rock. Doesn't it look as if was dropped and also caused the crack the climbers are using? Next, we will look at another rock that really gives us an impact.

Figure 43, Major Impact Location

6.2 Major Impact

            Just northwest of Turtle Rock is a rock many climbers call Amazing. It gathers that name from its elaborate maze and hallways that are inside this rock structure. The overhead view using Bing Maps in figure 44 shows how fragile this rock structure was.

Figure 44, Major Impact Overhead

            

What force could have shattered this giant boulder? This is far beyond water getting into cracks and freezing.  From this view, it looks as if this boulder was sliced up. I can see no way to explain this formation other than it was dropped here at a very high velocity. Is this debris from someplace more in central Wyoming or is it a piece of what caused the crater?  It would be quite interesting to see what is under this formation and to see if this was even an original part of Wyoming.

Figure 45, Major Impact

            Here is a ground level picture taken of the Amazing Rock. I feel this is the one picture that puts all of this together. This formation is clearly an impact that shattered and spread many components around the base.

Once again, I am not a geologist, but I have put together some very strong evidence that Colorado, Utah and Wyoming has had impact with a foreign body from space. Now to look at just how far east does this impact field extend to?

7. THE EASTERN END OF THE DEBRIS FIELD

We have viewed the profiles and witnessed the impact but can there actually be a way to find the eastern end of the debris field? Actually many researchers have found it and it has museums and a television show to prove it.

7.1 Brenham, Kansas

Figure 46, Brenham, Kansas

Located between Greensburg and Haviland along US 54 Expressway is the community known as Brenham, Kansas. The Brenham meteorites fell in prehistoric times. They were recognized by Native Americans as something quite extraordinary; pieces having been found in the Hopewell Culture burial mounds in the Little Miami Valley, Ohio nearly 1000 miles away.  One of the most significant meteorite finds in 1882 near the town of Brenham, in Kiowa County Kansas, known as the Brenham meteorite, was discovered by a farmer's wife, Eliza Kimberly. It was the tireless efforts of this pioneer woman, which led to them being confirmed by scientists to be meteorites in the late 1800s. She collected many samples and subsequently convinced Professor F. W. Cragin, of Washburn College, Topeka, Kansas, to come, examine them and purchase a few. Later, Clyde Fisher, of the American Museum of Natural History, came to examine them and to excavate more pieces. In the 1920's and 1930's, Harvey Nininger, famed meteorite hunter, unearthed many more from the same area. In 1949, H. O. Stockwell discovered a 1,000-pound specimen that is temporarily on display in the City Building on Main Street in Greensburg, Kansas. In the fall of 2005, a specially designed metal detector located the largest piece yet from the Brenham site, a 1,400-pound meteorite. This latest large specimen is an oriented pallasite, a stony-iron body that remained oriented in one position as it fell, rather than tumbling, thus creating a rounded or conical shape on the side that took the brunt of the heat upon entering the atmosphere. Only two larger ones of that type are known to have been found in the world. All of the Brenham specimens are believed to have come from one meteorite that broke up during its fall. Scientists previously estimated that this fall occurred about 20,000 years ago, but recent evidence suggests it fell around 10,000 years ago. Over three tons of Brenham material has been found. The Kansas Meteorite Museum, 21255 Street K, Haviland, Kansas 67059 has many of these meteorites on display.

Figure 47, Brenham Meteorite fragments in the Kansas Meteorite Museum

7.2 Steve Arnold and Geoffrey Notkin , Meteorite Men in Brenham, Kansas

            Anyone that has watched Meteorite Men on the Science Channel have been viewing the discovery and extraction of the meteorite remains that created the Great Divide Basin Crater. Their website, http://www.meteoritemen.com/  profiles a lot of their work around Brenham.

Figure 48, Steve Arnold and Geoffrey Notkin

Steve Arnold, in October of 2005 made one of the greatest meteorite discoveries of modern times. In a field in rural Kansas, Steve found a complete, oriented pallasite, weighing almost three quarters of a ton. Excavated from its resting place seven-and-a-half feet underground, it is the largest pallasite ever recovered in the United States, and the largest oriented pallasite in history.

8. OTHER CLUES TO AN IMPACT

            Wyoming and states surrounding it have some interesting features. In the early 1970’s I would go with my grandpa Beckman to Farson, Wyoming and do some fishing. We didn’t use hooks, lines or poles. Our fishing was done with shovels. There are a couple areas in Wyoming that have Fossil Fish Beds. It was very surprising to dig down thru levels of shale and find a layer that had a fish fossil and a couple layers underneath to find several more fish. Although it is now illegal to do this type of fishing, I always wondered what happened to leave us with such a fossil record.

 

Figure 49, Fossil Catfish

Figure 50, Fossil Fish In Mass

8.1 Fossil Record

            Located west and southwest of the crater are the Farson Fish beds and the Kemmerer fish beds which lay in the Green River Basin. These are the two main sites for finding fossils but they are not the only places. As expected, Colorado and Utah have their sites as well.

  

Figure 51, Fossil Fish Locations

            

These fossil beds include much more than a few fish. Birds, insects and plants can be found in the same locations. All of these fossils show that Wyoming was more of a tropical region when these were formed. I always wondered how all these fossils would form. Was this a large lake that dried out trapping the fish? Why are these fish located through several levels? Couldn't these levels be the splatters from a large lake that may have been struck from something beyond this Earth? Scientists dated the material in the Green River Locality using strati graphic methods of dating. They concluded that the transition occurred between 49.7 and 50.7 million years ago and lasted less than half a million years. By dating the rock fossils to the Green River Formation in the Eocene Era gives as an approximate time of the impact.

Figure 52, Coal Trains In Wyoming

8.2 Fossil Fuel

            Wyoming is very abundant with coal, oil and natural gas. 

Figure 53, Natural Gas Drilling near Pinedale, Wyoming

Figure 54, Wyoming Coal Bearing Areas

            Could this abundance be attributed to a meteorite strike? Although appearing coincidental, a meteorite strike may have caused massive wildfires charring the wood then burying it underneath a large amount of dirt in a very short time. Today we are mining and drilling energy from the results of a very tragic disaster.

9. CONCLUSION

            The journey has led from space to fossils found underground. I have shown the “spot” that can be seen on Google Earth, Google Maps and even on Bing Maps. The area around the crater has shown several signs of powerful force deflecting sedimentary rocks into sharp and high angles.

            Utilizing the elevation profile found on Google Earth, I have indicated a very large debris field covering multiple states.  The debris is still visible in the form of rock structures found around Vedauwoo, Wyoming and this may include pieces of whatever stuck the Earth to cause this destruction.

            Finally I explored into the depths of underground fossils and fossil fuels that may have been caused from this impact. Like I have said before, Wyoming shows a quite violent past and hopefully this paper will lead to research to confirm the Great Divide Basin Crater.

Appendix 1, Meteor Craters from Geology.com

Figure 55, Screen Print From Geology.com

http://geology.com/meteor-impact-craters.shtml

            From a website mapping locations of visual craters, two such locations are noted to the southwest of the visible location of the Great Divide Basin Crater.