Ames Astrobleme Museum As•tro•bleme (noun) – A depression,
usually circular, on the surface of the Earth that is caused by
the impact of a meteorite. From mid-20th century. astro- + Greek
blçma “wound from a missile” About 450 million years ago, a
meteor struck north-central Oklahoma, creating an impact crater
more than eight miles wide. Today, the small. rural community of
Ames proudly claims the crater as its own – and as an important
contributor to the geological knowledge of the nation’s
petroleum industry. Located about 20 miles southwest of Enid,
the Ames crater – an astrobleme – is buried by about 9,000 feet
of sediment, making it barely visible on the surface. The hidden
crater remained unrecognized until 1991, when a prolific
oilfield was discovered. On August 18, 2007, Ames citizens
celebrated the opening of their astobleme museum describing the
meteor’s (estimated to have been the size of a football) impact.
The museum is a small, open-ended A-frame structure that
requires no staff, according to in