Curator Roy S. Clarke with Meteorite

Summary

Curator Roy S. Clarke, Jr., poses with the Old Woman Mountains meteorite. Found by prospectors in 1975 in the Old Woman Mountains in the Needles Resource Area, San Fernando Valley, California. Removing the meteorite from its resting place proved difficult because of the rugged terrain, the weight of the meteorite, and the desert's summer heat. It took the assistance of the U.S. Marine Corps to get the job done. This 6,070 pound meteorite, the second largest ever to have been discovered in the United States, was the subject of research by the Smithsonian for approximately a year before being sent to a museum in California. Now kept in the Desert Discovery Center in Barstow, CA.

Subject

• Clarke, Roy S., Jr
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Division of Meteorites
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Dept. of Mineral Sciences
• Old Woman Meteorite
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

Featured in the "Torch," April 1978. This image is scanned from the "Torch" print edition. See Neg. SIA2011-0737 and SIA2011-0736 for other views of Dr. Clarke with the meteorite.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 371, Box 2, Folder: April 1978

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

March 8, 1978

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Meteorites
• Smithsonian Institution
• Personnel management
• Specimens
• Employees
• Museums
• Meteors
• Museum curators
• Smithsonian Institution--Employees

Form/Genre

• Object
• Document
• Person, candid

ID Number

SIA2011-2400 or 78-3913-19

Physical description

Number of Images: 1 ; Color: Black and White ; Size: 2.25w x 3.75h ; Type of Image: Person, candid; Object ; Medium: Document

Full Record

View Full Record