This is the Barringer Meteor Crater located 40 miles west of Flagstaff, Arizona. From rim to rim it is almost a mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and about 550 feet deep. It is named after Daniel Barringer, a mining engineer who in 1903 theorized that the crater was produced by a large iron meteorite that fell from space. At the time, others in the scientific community believed this to be a volcanic crater. Barringer staked a mining claim to the area and began drilling. He was betting on striking it rich by finding a large deposit of iron ore beneath the crater. What you see at the bottom are remnants of the mining equipment he used. Unfortunately for him, no significant deposit of iron was ever found. Scientists today believe that most of the meteorite vaporized upon impact. That is why iron was never found beneath the crater. The Barringer family still owns the land. They probably have made more money from the tourism than if they had struck the mother lode.