Cali                        3°24.3'N, 76°30.6'W

Santiago de Cali, Columbia

Fall: 6 July 2007, 16: 33 local time (UTC-5)

Ordinary chondrite (H/L4)

History: A bright bolide of absolute magnitude -15 ± 5 was widely seen over Colombia, but mainly over several municipalities of the Cauca Valley. Eyewitnesses reported that the fireball traveled from north to south and experienced several fragmentations along its trajectory, causing audible detonations that shattered windows in the town of Restrepo. Acoustic waves were recorded by OSSO. Ten stones were found in the southern part of Cali (Mariano Ramos, Ciudad Cordoba, Antonio Narino, and Laureano Gómez districts), seven of which had penetrated roofs of houses. Two stones (#5, 6) were found by EAC and ASAFI, and the others were purchased by MFarmer and other collectors. There have been unsubstantiated reports of additional stones being collected. Stones #1, 2, 3, 4, and 10 were collected immediately after the fall; the others were exposed to weather for days (#5, 6, 7) to weeks (#8, 9).

Physical characteristics: The known stones have the following masses: #1 = 76.6 g; #2 ˜ 33 g (not including part that was lost); #3 = 37.9 g; #4 = 111 g; #5 = 12 g; #6 = 20 g; #7 = 24.9 g; #8 = 66.7 g; #9 = 90.4 g; #10 = 5.6 g; total recovered mass ˜478 g. All specimens exhibit a fresh black fusion crust.

Petrography and Mineral compositions: (Jordi Llorca, UPC; Josép M. Trigo-Rodríguez, CSIC-IEEC; Alan Rubin, UCLA; Jeff Grossman, USGS) Olivine: Fa_22.4±0.3, n = 20 [UCLA], Fa_22.5, n = 93, PMD_Fa = 4% [USGS]. Low-Ca pyroxene: Fs_12.1±5.9Wo_0.79±0.81, n = 24 [UCLA], Fs_15.8Wo_1.3, n = 61, PMD_Fs = 35% [USGS]. Plagioclase: Ab_82.5Or_1.9, n = 6 [UCLA]. Metal is mainly present as kamacite with 0.66 wt% Co, n = 10 [UCLA]. Metallic Cu grains are common in metal-sulfide assemblages.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H/L4); S3, W0. Olivine and kamacite compositions are intermediate between H and L. Olivine is equilibrated, but low-Ca pyroxene is very heterogeneous. Specimens: Type specimens, 20.5 g (stone #9) SI, 2 g UCLA and 2 g CSIC (both from stone #6). Other specimens, 20 g PUJC, 132 g, MFarmer. Most of the remaining material has been sold to private collectors.

Submitted by: J. Grossman, USGS.