GOLD BASIN, ARIZONA, L-4 A typical common chondrite.

This common stone meteorite (chondrite) was first recognized by gold prospectors who had seen meteorites on display. Thus far hundreds of pounds, in the form of thousands of specimens have been recovered. The Gold Basin Meteorite is a typical weathered chondrite.

Two Gold Basin, Arizona meteorites in as found condition. The larger one on the left weighs 138 grams, and the smaller one on the right weighs in at 38 grams. Both have a dark brown oxide coating, yet even though these meteorites might have been on the ground for 20,000 years or more, both still have traces of their original fusion crust. Because these "sound off " a metal detector, they are fairly easy to find. But unless one was real keen on meteorite identification these would be easy to miss amid the myriad of rocks that form desert pavement at the Gold Basin site.

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