Grootfontein (B 5)

Name: Grootfontein

http://www.namibia-direct.com/activities.html

Get up close to the biggest ever meteorite to hit the earth in Grootfontein. Grootfontein lies on the B8, the Namibian National Road which leads from Windhoek to the Caprivi Strip in the north-eastern part of Namibia. The name, Grootfontein, means “Big Spring” in the Afrikaans language.

Namibia’s claim to fame is the Hoba Meteorite, which rests on the farm “Hoba” - lying 24 kilometers from the town of Grootfontein. It is approximately 3 meters in length, 1 meter in width and weighs over 50 tons. It is estimated at being between 200 and 400 million years old and fell to the earth about 80,000 years ago. It is also the largest naturally occurring mass of iron known to exist on the planet’s surface. The curious thing about the Hoba Meteorite is that there is no impact crater and it is estimated that it is possible that it entered the earth’s atmosphere at a rather low trajectory, impacted far away and bounced its way to its final destination.


Google count:
Date:

Historic fact:

Other interesting info:

Where to stay: