Meteor Crater

In the heart of the Arizona High Desert, the remains of a 50,000-year old meteor impact, which crashed with a force greater than 20-million tons of TNT under detonation, await exploration. The hole is 550 feet (167 meters) deep and nearly 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) in circumference, and its terrain is so similar to the moon that NASA used it as a training site for Apollo Astronauts. The Meteor Crater Visitor Center features exhibits and multimedia presentations and there is a gift shop on-site. It's located approximately 37 miles (59 kilometers) east of Flagstaff on Interstate-40 and it serves as a somber reminder of how cosmological events can affect life on the planet.