246 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



The form of the Iron Creek meteorite, as seen from its cast, is that of a low cone, 8.5 inches (22 cm.) high and 22 

 inches (56 cm.) in diameter. The outline of the base of the cone is an incomplete circle, an approximately straight 

 contour cutting off one side so that only about three-fourths of the circle is present. The width of the mass in this 

 direction is 17 inches (43 cm.). Were the circle complete the apex of the cone would occupy a position near its center, 

 but with the mass shaped as it is, the apex is situated close to the straight side. At one point where the straight side 

 joins the circular outline there was evidently in the original mass a prolongation perhaps a few inches in length, 

 which, having formed the most convenient part of the meteorite for removal, has been sawed off for purposes, doubt- 

 less, of analysis and distribution. While the form of the meteorite as a whole is conical, it is also arched, the base 

 being concave and the sides convex. The greatest depth of the concavity of the base is about It inches, and occurs 

 opposite the apex. This general concavity is also subdivided by two secondary concave areas, one about 7 inches 

 (18 cm.), the other about 10 inches (25 cm.), in diameter. These are again subdivided by broad, shallow pits 

 from 2 to 4 inches in diameter. The perimetral edge formed by the meeting of the sides and base is irregular 

 in contour and from 1 to 2 inches in thickness. The broad, shallow pits of the base, which by their form char- 

 acterize this as the rear side of the meteorite, are, as has been stated, from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm.) in diameter. 

 Their form is approximately circular, although they at times tend to be oval or polygonal. The ridges between 

 the pits are low, rounded, and merge into the pits. The pits of the convex surface of the meteorite present con- 

 siderable contrast to these. They are smaller, rarely exceeding 2 inches (5 cm.) in diameter, are deeper in pro- 

 portion to their diameters, more irregular in shape, and the ridges between them are higher. They lack uniformity 

 of shape or arrangement. Some are long and narrow, others three-sided, others again more nearly circular. The apex 

 of the cone appears to have been less oxidized than the rest of the mass, indicating that the crust had sprayed off at 

 this point. It presents a smooth surface about 2 inches (5 cm.) in diameter, convex except for a small, saucerlike 

 depression about 0.5 inch (1 cm.) in diameter in its center. The base and the sides of the cone meet in a sloping edge, 

 except on the side already described as approximately straight. Here a broad, flat surface is presented, perpendicular 

 to the base of the cone, or as if a section had been cut through the cone at one side of the apex and removed. The 

 pittings of this surface resemble furrows, and run, in general, parallel to the axis of the cone. Some, however, con- 

 verge from points on the side toward the central point of the base. This is the course which currents of air, rushing 

 from the front side backward to the partial vacuum behind , might be expected to take. The characters above described 

 make it clear that the convex surface with its deeper, smaller pits was the front side of the meteorite in falling. The 

 characters of the crust can not be determined from the cast, nor are minute drift phenomena, if any occur, to be 

 seen. Brezina, however, states that the rear side has a bark crust 0.5 to 1 mm. thick. The plate accompanying the 

 present paper shows the characters above described. The adoption by the writer for this meteorite of the name Iron 

 Creek, instead of the more usual one of Victoria, is on account of information received from Mr. Johnston, of the Geolog- 

 ical Survey, that the small mission station of Victoria, from which the meteorite received that name, is 150 miles from 

 the locality where the meteorite was found, and it is no longer known by that name, its present name being Papan. 

 Iron Creek is a well-defined stream only 25 miles in length, which takes its name from the fact that the meteorite 

 was found near it. Iron Creek, moreover, is the English translation of the Indian name given to the stream before 

 the white man entered the country. The meteorite was known to the Indians and held in great veneration by them. 



The meteorite is preserved almost entire in the Victoria College at Toronto. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1872: Butlek. The Great Lone Land. London, 1872, p. 304. 



2. 1887: Coleman. Proc. Roy. Soc. Canada, vol. 4, sec. 3, p. 97. 



3. 1887: Flight. Meteorites, pp. 53-54. 



4. 1895: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, p. 279. 



5. 1907: Farrington. Meteorite studies II. Publ. Field Columbian Mus., Geol. ser., vol. 3, pp. 113-115. 



Ironhannork Creek. See Tomhannock Creek. 



Irwin meteorite. See Tucson. 



Irwin-Ainsa meteorite. See Tucson. 



IVANPAH. 



San Bernardino County, California. 

 Latitude 35° 28' N., longitude 115° 31' W. 

 Iron. Medium octahedrite (Om), of Brezina. 

 Found and described, 1880. 

 Weight, 58.3 kgs. (128 lbs.) 



This meteorite was mainly described by Shepard * as follows : 

 The locality of this find is situated in a region known as the Colorado Basin, within 8 miles of Ivanpah, 200 miles 

 northeast of San Bernardino, in southern California. The mass was discovered in 1880 by Mr. Stephen Goddard, 

 while crossing what is there called a "wash." 



