Canyon Diablo ('Canyon of the Devil') meteorites are the quintessential American meteorites, prized by museums and private collectors everywhere. Like most meteorites, this specimen originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Approximately 49,000 years ago it was part of an errant asteroid that plowed into the Arizona desert with the force of more than 100 atomic bombs. Fragments were ejected more than 11 miles away from the point of impact, and the main mass vaporized, creating the world's best-preserved meteorite crater. The renowned Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona is nearly one mile across and 600 feet deep.

At the turn of the 20th Century, businessman Daniel Barringer reasoned this crater had to have been created by an enormous mass weighing millions of tons; and he believed this mass, worth a fortune in nickel and iron, lay under the crater's base. After a massive investment spanning decades it was not found. Modern science informs that a meteorite far smaller than what Barringer believed existed would possess sufficient energy to blow a huge hole in the desert floor… as well as generate enough heat to vaporize most of its mass. In effect, the mass that Barringer spent the last part of his life searching for didn't exist — but this engaging example does, as does the crater, which has proven to be a boon to the Barringer family and is an international tourist attraction not to be missed.