Canyon Diablo, Arizona

Canyon Diablo (Navajo: Kin Łigaaí) is a ghost town on the Navajo Reservation in Coconino County, Arizona, United States on the edge of the arroyo Canyon Diablo.

The town, which is about 12 miles northwest of Meteor Crater, was the closest community to the crater when portions of the meteorite were removed. Consequently, the meteorite that struck the crater is officially called the "Canyon Diablo Meteorite."

History

The town originated about 1882, due to construction delays attributed to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad ordering the wrong span length railroad bridge across the canyon. The bridge story is that the original bridge when ordered was not long enough to span Canyon Diablo, and this was only discovered when the bridge arrived on site from the manufacturer. Consequently, for six months the transcontinental railroad ended at the lip of Canyon Diablo while another bridge was manufactured and shipped to the work site.

The original pillars the bridge was mounted on were excavated from the surrounding Kaibab Limestone and shaped on site by Italian stonemasons. The ruins of the lodgings of the railroad workmen are on the west end of the bridge site. Although the railroad ended at the edge of the canyon, work on the railroad route still progressed. Crews were sent ahead to survey the route, prepare the grade and bed, cut and prestage railroad ties and other supplies in advance of the iron rails that would accompany the trains once the canyon was spanned when the new bridge arrived. Work quickly progressed until the A&P crew linked up with the Southern Pacific Railroad crews at Needles, California on August 9, 1883.

Canyon Diablo

Canyon Diablo may refer to:

See also

Canyon Diablo (meteorite)

The Canyon Diablo meteorites include the many fragments of the asteroid that created the Barringer Crater (Meteor Crater), Arizona, USA. Meteorites have been found around the crater rim, and are named for nearby Canyon Diablo, which lies about three to four miles west of the crater.

History

The asteroid fell about 50,000 years ago. The meteorites have been known and collected since the mid-19th century and were known and used by pre-historic Native Americans. The Barringer Crater, from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, was the center of a long dispute over the origin of craters that showed little evidence of volcanism. That debate was settled in the 1950s thanks to Eugene Shoemaker's study of the crater.

In 1953, Clair Cameron Patterson measured ratios of the lead isotopes in samples of the meteorite. The result permitted a refinement of the estimate of the age of the Earth to 4.550 billion years (± 70 million years).

Composition and classification

This meteorite is an iron octahedrite. Minerals reported from the meteorite include:

Canyon Diablo (canyon)

Canyon Diablo (Navajo: Kin Łigaaí) is a canyon north of Two Guns in Northern Arizona. It is located in the Navajo Indian Reservation.

The canyon passes 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Meteor Crater. The community of Canyon Diablo, Arizona on the edge of the canyon about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the crater was the closest community to the crater when scientists began investigating the crater. Consequently, the meteorite that caused the crater is officially called the Canyon Diablo meteorite.

Canyon Diablo ("devil canyon") is the Spanish translation of the Native American name. The 1930 Canyon Diablo highway bridge, once used by U.S. Route 66 to cross the canyon south of the present I-40 bridges, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The BNSF Canyon Diablo railroad bridge is a well-known railfan site.

References

Arizona

Arizona (ⁱ/ɛrɪˈzoʊnə/; /ærɪˈzoʊnə/) (Navajo: Hoozdo Hahoodzo; O'odham: Alĭ ṣonak) is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western United States and of the Mountain West states. It is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, and one point in common with the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona's border with Mexico is 389 miles (626 km) long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California.

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. It was previously part of the territory of Alta California in New Spain before being passed down to independent Mexico and later ceded to the United States after the Mexican–American War. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.

Arizona (department)

The Arizona Department (1863−1865) was a department of the Second Mexican Empire, located in the present day state of Sonora in Northwestern Mexico.

It was directly south of the U.S. Arizona Territory, the present day state of Arizona.

Arizona (1913 film)

Arizona was a 1913 silent film western feature directed by Augustus Thomas based on his famous play Arizona. It is one of the first feature films made in the United States, alongside Cleopatra and Richard III. Cyril Scott plays the lead Lt. Denton.

This film is now lost.

Cast

See also

References

External links