Digitized Books Barringer Crater Guidebook Classic Geologic Guidebook
Classic Geologic Guidebook by Eugene M. Shoemaker and Susan W. Kieffer
David A. Kring
The first geologic guidebook for Meteor Crater was produced by Eugene M. Shoemaker and Susan W. Kieffer for the 37th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, August 7, 1974. This classic work was reprinted by the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University in 1979 and 1988 as CMS publication no. 17.
The guidebook includes (a) a synopsis of the crater, (b) a discussion of shock metamorphism of Coconino Sandstone, (c) a road guide from Flagstaff to Meteor Crater, (d) and a guide to the Astronaut Trail in the crater. Although the Astronaut Trail is badly damaged and portions of it are no longer accessible, the guidebook’s description of the crater is an essential primer to those students wanting to understand the geology of the crater. It is a fascinating historical snapshot, too, of our understanding of simple crater formation.
The guidebook is out of print and, with Prof. Carleton Moore’s permission, provided to the community in electronic form here:
E. M. Shoemaker and S. W. Kieffer (1974)
Guidebook to the Geology of Meteor Crater, Arizona
Publication no. 17, Reprinted 1988, Center for Meteorite Studies, Arizona State University.
The second geologic guidebook to the crater was published in 2007 on the occasion of the 70th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, 33 years after the Shoemaker and Kieffer guidebook. As described in the preface of that volume, it relied heavily on the work of Shoemaker and Kieffer, which still provides a solid foundation for ongoing studies at the crater.
For those looking ahead, the third geologic guidebook is planned for the occasion of the 80th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society.
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