The Willamette Meteorite is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States, and the sixth largest in the world. It is an iron-nickel meteorite; no crater has been found. It had been known to the natives for a long time: it is known as Tomanowos to the Clackamas Indians of the modern-day Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde to whom it originally belonged, but had to be abandoned by them on their relocation in 1855. It was discovered by European immigrants in 1902.

It is believed to have landed in Canada on the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, and carried by an iceberg as a glacial erratic to Oregon's Willamette Valley during an episode of the Missoula Floods.

Its pits were caused not by a flaming descent through the atmosphere, but by centuries of rusting in the wet forest of Oregon.

It was discovered in the Willamette Valley of Oregon at , by the modern city of West Linn, Oregon. It weighs over 14,000 kg (about 32,000 pounds) and is the rough size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Parts have been sliced off.

When a Welsh immigrant named Ellis Hughes discovered it, it was on land owned by the Oregon Iron and Steel Company. The settler moved it in secret to his own land, which was 90 days of hard work to cover a 1200 m distance, after which he claimed ownership. However, the moving was discovered, and after a lawsuit the Oregon Iron and Steel Company became owner (usgennet.org reference, below).

It was later donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1906. With time there grew greater sensitivity to the natives to whom it originally belonged. The museum was built around the meteorite, but to remove it would damage the museum. There is now an agreement between the tribe and the museum, and once a year tribal members may conduct a private ceremony. It remains in New York.

External links and references

• American Museum of Natural History on the Willamette Meteorite
• On the agreement between American Museum of Natural History and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community
• Map reference
• meteoritearticles.com on the Willamette Meteorite
• grandronde.org on the Willamette Meteorite
• usgennet.org on the Willamette Meteorite
• Geological Society of Oregon on the Missoula Floods & the Willamette Meteorite