Report an accessibility problem
Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies

Sikhote-Alin

Sikhote-Alin is an iron meteorite that fell spectacularly at 10:38 AM, February 12, 1947, in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, northeast of Vladivostok, Russia.

Witnesses to the fall saw a fireball brighter than the sun, that appeared from the North and then exploded violently at the very low altitude of ~3.5 miles.  Fragments of the meteorite were scattered over an area of approximately half a square mile, and created a field of small pits and craters up to 85 feet long and 20 feet deep.

The fall was seen and heard as far away as 200 miles from the impact point, and a 20-mile trail of smoke and dust was evident for several hours after impact.