148 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL. 92 
Another group of sinks near the head of Beaverdam Creek, 3 to 5 
miles northwest of this find, presumably is the result of solution of a 
calcareous bed in the Barnwell formation, which immediately under- 
lies a thin cover of overlapping Hawthorne formation in that region. 
Several ponds about 12 miles north of the Sardis site and occupying 
depressions in the Barnwell formation, indicate either solution of the 
Barnwell or the McBean formation, which hes beneath the surface. 
Both formations contain soluble beds. 
Besides these comparatively small ponds and bays of somewhat 
irregular shape and orientation, which obviously were formed by solu- 
tion, aerial photographs reveal on the plains of South Carolina 20 
miles east several groups of much larger but very shallow elliptical 
depressions, all trending N.45°W. These are of the “Carolina bay” 
type, about whose origin there has been much speculation. We are 
of the opinion that these bays are not scars of meteorites, as has been 
suggested. They are much too shallow in proportion to their area, 
many being much more than 200 times as wide as deep, whereas craters 
of known meteoritic origin range from 29.4 to 6 times.® 
The Sardis meteorite, because of its size, represents one of the most 
important meteorites of this country. If the total known weight of 
this fall is compared with the total known weights of other falls, the 
Sardis stands as the tenth on the list of meteorites from the United 
States. It is of more importance than that because only five larger 
meteoritic specimens have so far been found in this country. 
The following list gives in descending order of their total recorded 
weights the 11 largest known meteorites ever to have fallen in this 
country. Such weights are never accurate, and perhaps in cases such 
as Canyon Diablo and Brenham they are far too conservative. 
4Melton, F. A., and Schriever, William, The Carolina bays—are they meteorite scars? 
Journ. Geol., vol. 41, pp. 52-66, 1933. 
Prouty, W. F., Carolina bays and elliptical lake basins. Journ. Geol., vol. 48, p. 200, 
1935. 
Cooke, C. Wythe, Origin of the so-called meteorite scars of South Carolina. Science 
News Letter, vol. 23, p. 202, 1933. 
Discussion of the origin of the supposed meteorite scars of South Carolina. 
Journ. Geol., vol. 42, pp. 89-96, 1934. 
. Elliptical bays in South Carolina and the shape of eddies. Journ. Geol., vol. 
48, pp. 205-211, 1940. 
Johnson, Douglas, Supposed meteorite sears in South Carolina. Science, new ser., vol. 
79, p. 461, 1934. 
Role of artesian waters in forming the Carolina bays. Science, new ser., vol. 
86, pp. 255-258, 1937. 
5 Spencer, L. J., Geogr. Journ., vol. 81, No. 3, Mar. 1933. 
