This formation is sometimes called the Crater, because of its
shape, but there is no evidence of volcanic action. Locally it
is known as Coon Butte, which is a misnomer; but Meteorite
Mountain is a name with a meaning.
It is not known positively just how or when the mountain was
formed, but the weight of evidence seems to favor the meteorite
theory, which is that at some remote period of time a monster
meteorite fell from the sky and buried itself in the earth.
Mr. F. W. Volz, who has lived in the country twenty years and is
an intelligent observer of natural phenomena, has made a careful
study of the mountain, and it is his opinion that such an event
actually occurred and that a falling star made the mountain.
When the descending meteorite, with its great weight and terrific
momentum, hit the earth something had to happen. It buried
itself deep beneath the surface and caused the earth to heave up
on all sides. The effect produced is aptly illustrated, on a
small scale, by throwing a rock into thick mud.
The impact of the meteorite upon the earth not only caused an
upheaval of the surface, but it also crushed and displaced the
rocks beneath. As the stellar body penetrated deeper into the
earth its force became more concentrated and either compressed
the rocks into a denser mass or ground them to powder.
The plain on which the mountain stands is covered by a layer of
red sandstone of variable thickness, as it is much worn in places
by weather erosion. Below the top covering of red sandstone lie
three hundred feet of limestone and beneath the limestone five
hundred feet more of white sandstone. This arrangement of the
rocks is plainly seen in the walls of Canon Diablo.
The displaced strata of rocks in the hole are tilted and stand
outwards and great boulders of red sandstone and limestone lie
scattered all about. If the hole had been made by an explosion
from below large pieces of rock from each one of the different
rock strata would have been thrown out; but, while as just
stated, there are plenty of huge blocks of red sandstone and
limestone, there are no large pieces of white sandstone. After
the superficial layers of rock had been broken up and expelled en
masse, the deeper rock of white sandstone, being more confined,
could not reach the surface in the shape of boulders, but had
first to be broken up and ground to powder before it could
escape. Then the white sandstones in the form of fine sand was
blown skywards by the collision and afterwards settled down upon
the mountain. The mountain is covered with this white sand,
which could only have come out of the big hole as there is no
other white sand or sandstone found anywhere else upon the entire
plain.
