598 



Annals New York Academy of Sciences 



Montouban 12 Km 

 iJ 



\ 



OI<ind2 Locotions of falls of 

 the two Orgueil meteorite 

 samples, received from 

 the Montouban Museum 



I Locations of the 

 soil somples 



1=50,000 



Figure 14. Map of the Orgueil and Campsas area. 



CROSS SECTION ALONG THE ORGUEIL METEORITE TRAJECTORY BETWEEN 

 THE VILLAGES OF LAPEYRIERE AND ORGUEIL. 



Lopeyriere 



Campsas 



Ofgueil 



m mmmfi . 



GEOLOGICAL COLUMN AT ORGUEIL 



1 : recent alluvium of the Tarn. 

 2;ancient alluvium of the middle 



terrace of the Tarn. 

 3:ancient alluvium of the lower 



terrace of the Tarn, 

 /♦ifluvlal terraces of the Garonne^ 

 5:molasse (Stamplen-Ol Igocene) 



Tert lary 



soils about 30 cm thick 



alluvium (clay), about 60-90 cm thick 



o; o 



O.'o sand and pebbles of the terrace, 

 about 5 ni- thick 



molasse (Stampien), clay and sand, 

 at least 200 m. thick 



Figure 15. Geological cross-section in the vicinity of Orgueil, in France. 



vation of land in this part of France is basically the same today as it was at 

 the time of the fall of the Orgueil meteorite. One may expect, therefore, that 

 a microbial population similar to that of 1864 is present in the soil. In figure 

 14 are shown the locations of the falls (on May 14, 1864) of the stones and the 

 locations where soil samples were collected on March 29, 1^62. In figure 15 

 a geological cross-section of the area is shown. The sedimentary strata that 

 underlies the alluvium in the Orgueil-Nohic area consists of Tertiary formations 

 extending to a depth of at least 600 feet. Staplin (1962) suggested that a few 

 Cretaceous microfossil contaminants might have been included in the Orgueil 

 meteorite from the soil in the impact area. Our studies, based upon the recent 

 field work of Henri Coustau, revealed no Cretaceous outcrops near Orgueil and 



