Imilac meteorite trip

Imilac was found in 1822 in the Atacama Desert, Atacama, Chile. Numerous masses, large and small, have been removed over the years. The largest individual found weighed 450 pounds. I made a trip to the Imilac strewnfield in late April 2000 and can say first-hand that there is very little material left to be found. Systematic searching with ATV's using high-tech metal detecting has pretty much cleaned out the area. Imilac is classified as a Pallasite. Immediately below is a photo of representative samples of Imilac that I have for sale.

	Myself, Michael Cottingham, and Michael Farmer at the Imilac train station several miles from the strewnfield. Photo was taken by Wren Cottingham, Michael's wife.

	This is a photo is of the imilac strewnfield. Note our truck in the left-hand side of the photo. Near the top, center is the excavation hole made in the 1800s in an attempt to recover large specimens.

	Another shot of the vast, dry strewnfield. It was very beautiful here and the quietest place I have ever been - no sounds from planes, cars, etc. The night sky was incredible.

	Our campsite at Imilac.

	This dust devil passed right over our truck, rocking it back and forth and pelting us with small stones.

	The only available water for miles was this well at a spring a couple of miles from the strewnfield. We paused to refresh ourselves every day in the middle of the afternoon.

	This photo shows the ATV metal detector setup. It can detect a 1 kg piece to a depth of over 6 feet. This ATV was driven from dawn until dusk for 12 days and only 3.5kg were recovered.

	This is me (at left) with our Uruguayan friends. Ricardo, Hector, and Peche. Mike Farmer and I drank Pisco and wine with them each evening in the small camper in the background.

	This is me holding a 50 gram Imilac individual on the end my magnetic meteorite cane. This sure saves the back when picking up the few specimens we found.