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Portales Valley
H6 Chondrite
Fell June 13, 1998
Portales, New Mexico

PORTALES VALLEY-A NOT SO ORDINARY (ORDINARY CHONDRITE ?)!
by Robert Woolard
as published in the May, 2001 issue of Meteorite

On June 13, 1998, one of the most scientifically interesting and intrinsically beautiful meteorites ever seen to fall came crashing to Earth. Those lucky enough to witness the arrival of the Portales Valley (PV) meteorite were treated to a spectacular fireball accompanied by sonic booms, explosions and a spiraling dust train. Witnesses actually observed pieces hitting the ground. A barn was damaged by one and another literally embedded itself in a paved road. Even the strewnfield was atypical in that the largest pieces fell first instead of last. (This might be explained by a very late, almost total disruption of the final mass or masses.)

From the very start, the unique nature of PV was readily obvious by even the most cursory glance. But it was only when slicing of the metal-rich specimens was performed that the true uniqueness and the incredible beauty of PV was revealed. Crosscut throughout by ribbons and "sheets" of metal, it simply didn't look like any other meteorite. Early thoughts were that PV signaled the first time that all three types of meteorite (i.e. stone, iron and stony-iron) were delivered in one fall. Then, the speculation switched to it possibly being classified as either a silicated iron or an anomalous iron with chondritic inclusions. To most everyone's surprise, it was finally announced that PV was an ordinary chondrite.

It is fair to say that the specific details of the rigorous chemical and physical testing involved in the classification of a meteorite is beyond the scope of the vast majority of people interested in them. But, it is important to note that in the case of PV, even the experts seem to be unsure of its exact nature.

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