3 of the 12 Henbury Meteorite Craters

Henbury Meteorite Craters - Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Henbury Meteorite Craters' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Northern Territory.

Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve contains 12 craters which were formed when a meteor hit the earth's surface about 5,000 years ago.

The craters are situated on the stony foot slopes and plains immediately north of the Bacon Range. The low open shrub land vegetation consists principally of needlebush (Hakea leucoptera) with some southern bluebush (Maireana astrotricha). Mulga (Acacia aneura) occurs along drainage lines.

The Henbury Meteor, weighing several tonnes and accelerating to over 40,000km/h, disintegrated before impact, and the fragments formed the craters.

The scattered fragments of the Henbury Meteorite are extremely heavy since they consist mainly of the metals iron (90 per cent) and nickel (8 per cent). More than 500kg of metal have been found on the site, the largest weighing more than 100kg. Few specimens now exist in the area.

How to get there:
Car: 145km southwest of Alice Springs. Turn off 132km south of Alice Springs. Along the Stuart Highway there is a gravel road leading to Watarrka National Park and Kings Canyon. Travel along this road for 8km, then turn north for 5km to the reserve entrance