A METEORIC IRON FROM OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 



By George P. Merrill. 



Head Curator of Geology, United States National Museum. 



The iron meteorite here described and figured (Pis. I and II) was found by a sheep herder in 

 1913, some 22 miles northeast of Big Pine, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California. It passed 

 immediately into the hands of Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth of New York City, in whose possession it 

 has remained undescribed until the present. Except for a very uniform oxidation over the 

 entire surface, the iron is in an excellent state of preservation, measuring 65 centimeters in 

 length and weighing 193.17 kilograms (425 pounds). The outlines of the mass are well shown 

 in the plates. The pittings, it will be observed, are quite uniformly distributed over the entire 

 surface, and a striking feature is the absence of a nose or brustseite to indicate what may have been 

 its orientation during flight. Whether this is due to weathering or a too frequent reversal of 

 position to allow the formation of this feature, cannot be told definitely, though evidently the 

 latter assumption is correct. Oxidation has obscured any flow lines that may possibly have 

 existed. 



Although taking great pride in the possession of the iron, Mr. Ellsworth has yielded to the 

 interests of science and allowed the mass to be sawn so as to yield the surface shown in Figures 

 1 and 2, Plate II. The iron etches easily but not deeply, the surfaces soon becoming dull and 

 the figures having little relief. The kamacite bands are sometimes slightly swollen and undulat- 

 ing with numerous enclosures of sulphide and phosphide which show up as black dots and dashes 

 in the plate. Several of these are of a character to be classed as Reichenbach lamellae, but that 

 they seemingly have no constant orientation. The taenite plates are very thin and incon- 

 spicuous, and, as shown by the analysis, there is but little schreibersite. Two rounded masses 

 of troilite some 10 mm. in diameter, each partially bordered by the phosphide, are shown in the 

 section. At the left, and in other parts of the section, are shown irregular fracture lines filled with 

 a black unidentified material, probably carbon. The maximum width of the widmanstatten 

 figures is 1 mm. and the iron therefore classed as a medium octahedrite. In comparison with 

 other irons in the collection, it resembles closely that of Cleveland, East Tennessee, with which 

 also it agrees quite closely in chemical composition, so far as the main constituents are con- 

 cerned. It does not, however, etch so strongly and gives a dull, rather than a bright lustrous 

 surface, as does the last named. 



For the investigation of the chemical constitution of the iron I was fortunate in securing the 

 services of Prof. Stuart R. Brinkley of the Kent Chemical Laboratory of Yale University, 

 whose care and skill as an analyst need no commendation, as the results show for themselves. 

 The following is from Professor Brinkley 's report: 



For the qualitative and preliminary work 50 grams of the sample submitted were digested 

 with HC1 of constant boiling strength until there was no further action. Tests were made on 

 the acid soluble part and on the residue separately. In the HC1 solution there were found to be 

 present: Iron, nickel, cobalt, sulphur, phosphorus, and a trace of copper. Very careful tests 

 were made for the following with negative results: The platinum metals, arsenic, antimony, tin, 

 gold, silver, lead, mercury, cadmium, bismuth, selenium, tellurium, molybdenum, aluminum, 

 zirconium, titanium, zinc, manganese, chromium, vanadium, uranium, tungsten, the alkali-earths, 

 and the alkali metals. 



106024°— 22 5 



