Buffalo Gap        32°14’46"N, 99°59’35"W

Taylor County, Texas, United States

Found: 2003

Classification: Iron meteorite (IAB, ungrouped)

History:  A single 9.3 kg mass was found by Kevin Halliburton in 2003. It was found lying on a section of exposed limestone bedrock on his property, in the vicinity of limestone rubble presumed to have been moved from a nearby road-cut.  Mr. Halliburton recognized the unusual appearance and density of the rock.  Noting that it was magnetic and possessed other qualities common to iron meteorites, he suspected that it might be a meteorite and contacted A. Rubin at UCLA.

Physical characteristics:  The 9.3 kg mass is of irregular shape, and measures 21 × 15 × 9 cm at its widest points.  It is lightly weathered and displays well defined regmaglypts, but no fusion crust remains.  Minor caliche is present on the underside of the specimen, and over twenty (presumably troilite) inclusions are visible on its surface. 

Petrography: (J. Wasson, UCLA) Two pieces, weighing 15.7 and 18.7 grams, were examined. An area ~15×20 mm on the smaller sample was polished and etched.  It shows a well defined Widmanstätten pattern with kamacite rimmed by bright taenite borders. The kamacite is swollen with mean width 1.3±0.1 mm, on the border between Om and Og but probably on the Om side. Occasional schreibersites are scattered throughout the kamacite. The larger sample displays an 8 ×10 mm FeS nodule ringed by a 0.2-0.3 mm thick rim of schreibersite. The composition of the iron is almost identical to that of the IAB ungrouped FeS-rich iron Waterville, an iron with an exceptionally high content of FeS. Considering the large amount of FeS visible on the surface of the main mass, this iron would appear to be a new member of the Mundrabilla grouplet in the IAB complex.

Geochemistry: Bulk Composition: INAA data (J. T. Wasson, UCLA): Co = 4.8 mg g^-1, Ni = 80 mg g^-1, Cu = 212 mg g^-1, Ga = 75 μg g^-1, Ge = 280 μg g^-1, As = 16 μg g^-1, Ru = 4.9 μg g^-1, Sb = 410 ng g^-1, W = 0.86 μg g^-1, Ir = 0.44 μg g^-1, Au = 1.64 μg g^-1.

Classification: Iron meteorite, ungrouped member of the IAB complex, medium octahedrite; member of the Mundrabilla grouplet.

Specimens: Type specimen, 33 g, UCLA; main mass, JUtas.