Vaca Muerta
A find, recorded in 1861 in Chile · 3.8 tonnes recovered · Mesosiderite-A1
Vaca Muerta ranks 18th by recovered mass among the 30,841 meteorite finds with a complete record in NASA’s Meteorite Landings dataset (records to 2013). No other find recorded in Chile is heavier; 402 finds there have complete records. Among stony-iron meteorites it is the second-heaviest find. Only two observed falls recovered more.
- Recorded position
- 25.750° S, 70.500° W
Rings every 200 km.
Seen-to-fall neighbours
Medanitos, 342 km to the south-east, is the nearest meteorite that someone saw arrive (1953). In 1861, the year Vaca Muerta entered the record, four meteorites were seen to fall: Butsura in India, Grosnaja in Russia, Cañellas in Spain and one other.
| # | Fall | Year | Class | Recovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medanitos | 1953 | Eucrite-cm | 31 g | 342 km south-east |
| 2 | Raco | 1957 | H5 | 5 kg | 514 km east |
| 3 | San Pedro de Quiles | 1956 | L6 | 282 g | 592 km south |
| 4 | Palca de Aparzo | 1988 | L5 | 1.4 kg | 620 km north-east |
| 5 | Santa Lucia (2008) | 2008 | L6 | 4 kg | 673 km south |
Vaca Muerta among other finds
In the record, three finds carry the label Mesosiderite-A1, against three observed falls. The closest fall of the same group (mesosiderite) is Estherville, 8,083 km away in the United States, one of seven such falls. Among the other giant finds, Imilac lies closest: 242 km away. Worldwide, the finds just above and below it are Brenham (4.3 tonnes) and Youndegin (3.8 tonnes).
| Rank | Find | Class | Recorded | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaca Muerta | Mesosiderite-A1 | 1861 | 3.8 tonnes |
| 2 | Imilac | Pallasite, PMG | 1822 | 920 kg |