The KT Boundary At Philmont
The Asteroid That Killed The Dinosaurs
After 120 million years of biological dominance, 65 Million years ago the dinosaurs went extinct. In a sudden crash an asteroid hurtled through space pounding into the earth at thousands of miles an hour. Geologists have done decades of research evaluating theories including volcanic explosions, cosmic rays, and otherworldly influences. The most commonly accepted one today regards that of an asteroids catastrophic impact tens of millions of years ago. I’ll let the experts at Geology of Wyoming sum it up best,
“The asteroid has hit the earth at a 20 to 30-degree angle just offshore of the Yucatan Peninsula. It made a crater 110 miles in diameter and 12 miles deep. The energy released is estimated to be equivalent to 10 billion Hiroshima atomic bombs”
You can find more of their research here at the Geology of Wyoming Website
Iridium: One of The Rarest Metals On Earth
The lower part of the layer is made of rock filled with a plethora of marine fossils. Hundreds of kinds of specimens from all kinds of different species. On top is a layer either with substantially reduced amounts or devoid of all fossil records at all. In between these two layers is a middle section of claystone filled with tons of Iridium.
If you have a gallon of liquid combined of all elements on earth, about half of it would be filled with oxygen. Next would be Silicon with about a quarter, followed by Aluminum, Iron and Calcium. All the way at the bottom of the list, 77 out of 86 is Iridium. So rare that in this gallon, all of the Iridium on earth would take less then a single drop.
While rare on earth, Iridium is plentiful in space and therefore gives us insight that this distinct layer of Iridium that defines the KT boundary points to an asteroid impact as the most likely event for wiping out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
The photo below is of the KT boundary at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, NM. It is close to the short hike that takes viewers to the world famous T-Rex track on Philmont’s property and can be seen several times throughout the ranch.
You can see that thin white and silver layer in between the darker shades of rock. That thin silver line is Iridium.
