A compact catalogue of Canadian meteorites

A COMPACT CATALOGUE
OF CANADIAN METEORITES

Graham C. Wilson

E-mail:
turnstone@heydon.com

2nd edition, 18 October 2001
last revised on 01 February 2002 (file CANAMET.HTM)

INTRODUCTION

The 4th edition of the Natural History Museum catalogue of meteorites (Graham et al., 1985), lists only 46 authenticated meteorites for Canada, the world's second-largest country, compared with, e.g., Chile (35 from <8% of Canada's surface area) and India (33% of the area, yielding 124 meteorites from 18 states, 38 from the state of Uttar Pradesh alone). The Canadian meteorite-recovery rate is modest: only 13 have been recovered in the province of Ontario, which has an area 154% the size of Texas, big enough to hold five states the size of Kansas (>110 known meteorites!). Obviously, low population density and inclement winter weather may conspire with terrain and land-use factors to hinder recovery of falls and finds alike, relative to more southerly "hunting grounds" such as Texas and New Mexico.

Traill (1980) noted that the National Museum in Ottawa had samples of a majority of known Canadian meteorites. There are few discrepancies in nomenclature between his catalogue and those of Graham et al. and White (1984): Traill omitted Wynyard, which was unknown to him at the time, and included the now-discredited Akpohon. The ongoing research of Traill's successor, Richard Herd, indicates that 39 of 46 Canadian meteorites recognized up to 1990 are represented in the National Collection (exceptions: De Cewsville; Edmonton (Canada); Ferintosh; Great Bear Lake; Homewood; Kinsella; Vilna). The past 12 years have been remarkably productive, adding as many as 15 new meteorites (falls, finds and "belated recognitions") and seen one "loss" (Leeds --- a synonym for Toluca: Kissin et al., 1999). The following list contains 60 actual (or possible) and 7 discredited names from nine jurisdictions (Nunavut Territory aside, only Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland lack any contenders for "provincial meteorite"!). Note that the Yukon irons, formerly known as Klondike (Gay Gulch and Skookum Gulch) are now called Gay Gulch and Skookum, the earlier names persisting as synonyms in the literature.

The current total is 60 "Canadian" meteorites: 14 falls and 46 finds. According to the data available to the compiler, unique status as a Canadian meteorite is confirmed for all except Mayo. Some of the others also require additional data, formal naming and classification, particularly Hodgeville and two of the four newly-recovered finds of the "Prairie Meteorite Search", 2000-2001 (Kyle and the as-yet un-named "MAN-2001").

The source of this compilation, CANAMET, is a "metadatabase" of Canadian meteorite data, maintained by the compiler. It may prove useful in two contexts:

1. Planning research projects. The class, capsule history and total amount of each meteorite is presented. A glimpse of research history is provided by the number of references to each find or fall in the compiler's MINLIB, an annotated bibliographic database. MINLIB comprises >62,000 records: >4,000 records are relevant to meteorites and nucleosynthesis, and over 6,000 to the larger field of meteorites, tektites, the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary, impact events and planetary science. MINLIB citations for 102 meteorite names are totalled in the table. Amongst Canadian meteorites, the unique Tagish Lake chondrite has risen to third place in this unofficial citation index within 2 years of its fall!
2. Provenance and authenticity studies: see class, bulk Ni (wt.%) and/or the mole proportion of fayalite in olivine. Revelstoke and Vilna are so minute that, unless other material is discovered, their scientific worth is surely minimal. This, despite the well-deserved reputation of meteoritics for gleaning tomes of data from specks of interesting samples (an informative study of tiny Vilna is available: Smith et al., 1973)! These two are the only Canadian meteorites below (much below) one ounce (28.35 g) in weight. In contrast the largest, the Bruderheim stone, totals 303 kg.

Acknowledgements:

The accuracy of this catalogue was much improved by advice from Richard Herd and Steve Kissin, with some input from other MIAC members. The MIAC web-page format was engineered by Mike Higgins. Further updates and errata welcome!

METEORITES, MAIN LISTING, CANADA (60)

51 confirmed, while the italics
denote provisional names and status (9).

Canadian Meteorites: Alberta

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
ALBERTA (14)
Abee	Chondrite	EH5	-	-	Fall	1952	107	96
Belly River	Chondrite	H6	-	20	Find	1943	7.9	5
Bruderheim	Chondrite	L6	-	24	Fall	1960	303	67
Edmonton (Canada)	Iron	IIA	5.37	-	Find	1939	17.34	4
Ferintosh	Chondrite	L6	-	26	Find	1965	2.201	2
Innisfree	Chondrite	LL5	-	27	Fall	1977	4.58	13
Iron Creek	Iron	IIIA	7.72	-	Find	1869	145.85	6
Kinsella	Iron	IIIB	8.78	-	Find	1946	3.72	3
Mayerthorpe	Iron	IA	7.19	-	Find	1964	12.61	4
Millarville	Iron	IVA-ANOM	9.78	-	Find	1977	15.636	3
Peace River	Chondrite	L6	-	23	Fall	1963	45.76	21
Skiff	Chondrite	H4	-	18	Find	1966	3.54	3
Vilna	Chondrite	L5	-	25	Fall	1967	0.00014	2
Vulcan	Chondrite	H6	-	20	Find	1962	19	5

B.C. Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
BRITISH COLUMBIA (3)
Beaver Creek	Chondrite	H4	-	19	Fall	1893	14	10
Revelstoke	Chondrite	CI	-	00	Fall	1965	0.001	8
Tagish Lake	Chondrite	CI2	00	0-29	Fall	2000	~12.00?	53

Manitoba, N.W.T. & N.B. Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
MANITOBA (5)
Gilbert Plains	Iron	IIIAB	-	-	Find	2001	0.200	1
Giroux	Stony iron	Pallasite	10.3	11	Find	1954	4.275	9
Homewood	Chondrite	L6	-	25	Find	1970	0.325	4
MAN-2001 (Unnamed)	Chondrite	L4(?)	-	-	Find	2001	8.2	0
Riverton	Chondrite	H5	-	20	Find	1960	0.103	2
N.W.T. (2)
Great Bear Lake	Chondrite	H6	-	19	Find	1936	0.04	2
Holman Island	Chondrite	LL(?)	-	29	Find	1951	0.552	7
NEW BRUNSWICK (1)
Benton	Chondrite	LL6	-	31	Fall	1949	2.84	4

Ontario Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
ONTARIO (13)
Blithfield	Chondrite	E6	-	-	Find	1910	1.83	15
De Cewsville	Chondrite	H6	-	18	Fall	1887	0.340	2
Dresden (Ontario)	Chondrite	H6	-	20	Fall	1939	47.7	6
Hagersville	Iron	IAB	-	-	Find	1999	30.0	1
Kitchener	Chondrite	L6	-	26	Fall	1998	0.202	8
Madoc	Iron	IIIA	7.52	-	Find	1854	167.5	16
Manitouwabing	Iron	IIIA	7.34	-	Find	1962	38.6	15
Midland	Iron	IA	-	-	Find	1960	0.034	2
Osseo	Iron	IA	6.51	-	Find	1931	46.3	9
Shelburne	Chondrite	L5	-	24	Fall	1904	18.6	10
Thurlow	Iron	IIIB	9.92	-	Find	1888	5.5	2
Toronto	Iron	IAB	7.04	-	Find	1997	2.715	3
Welland	Iron	IIIA	8.77	-	Find	1888	8.16	17

Quebec Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
QUEBEC (5)
Chambord	Iron	IIIA	7.53	-	Find	1904	6.6	4
Chibougamau	Iron	IAB	6.54	-	Find	1972	?	2
Lac Dodon	Iron	IAB	8.64	-	Find	1993	0.800	2
Penouille	Iron	IAB	9.40	-	Find	1984	0.072	2
St-Robert	Chondrite	H5	-	19	Fall	1994	25.4	16
For historical reference:
Leeds [= Toluca]	Iron	IA	8.08	-	Find	1931	1.445	6

Saskatchewan Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
SASKATCHEWAN (14)
Annaheim	Iron	IA-ANOM	7.74	-	Find	1916	11.84	10
Blaine Lake	Chondrite	L6	-	26	Find	1974	1.896	3
Bruno	Iron	IIA	5.79	-	Find	1931	13	5
Burstall	Iron	IAB	-	-	Find	1992	0.359	3
Catherwood	Chondrite	L6	-	25	Find	1965	3.92	6
Delaine Lake	Chondrite	H5	-	19	Find	2000	3.0	4
Fillmore	Iron	IA	-	-	Find	1916	0.113	2
Garden Head	Iron	IRANOM	16.96	-	Find	1944	1.296	4
Hodgeville	Chondrite	H3-H4(?)	-	-	Find	1996	7.0	0
Kinley	Chondrite	L6	-	-	Find	1965	2.44	4
Kyle	Stone:(?)	(?)	-	-	Find	2000	7.0	3
Red Deer Hill	Chondrite	L6	-	26	Find	1975	2.51	3
Springwater	Stony iron	Pallasite	12.6	18	Find	1931	67.6	35
Wynyard	Chondrite	H5	-	18	Find	1968	3.479	4

Yukon Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
YUKON (3)
Gay Gulch	Iron_____	IRANOM	15.06	-	Find	1901	0.483	4
Mayo	Iron	(?)	-	-	Find	1999	?	0
Skookum	Iron	IVB	17.13	-	Find	1905	15.88	16

False Records

Name	Status	Area	Likely explanation	Refs	Earliest
OTHERS (6)
Akpohon	Discredited	N.W.T.	Dubious - synonym of Cape York	1	1980
Eastman	Discredited	Quebec	Dubious - no material	1	1968
Leeds	Discredited	Quebec	Dubious - synonym of Toluca	9	1939
Otasawian	Discredited	Alberta	Dubious - synonym of Canyon Diablo?	2	1969
Prince George	Discredited	B.C.	Dubious - fireball event, no material	1	1971
Takysie Lake	Discredited	B.C.	Dubious - pseudometeorite	2	1967

World Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
WORLDWIDE, I for comparison (18)
ALH84001	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Find	1984	1.900	118
Allende	Chondrite	CV3	-	-	Fall	1969	2000	395
Bishunpur	Chondrite	LL3.1	-	-	Fall	1895	1.039	68
Bjurbole	Chondrite	L4	-	26	Fall	1899	330	51
Brenham	Stony iron	Pallasite	11.1	12.5	Find	1890	1490	44
Campo del Cielo	Iron	IA	6.62	-	Find	1576	15000	45
Canyon Diablo	Iron	IA	6.98	-	Find	1891	30000	64
Chainpur	Chondrite	LL3.4	-	8-45	Fall	1907	8.66	73
Chassigny	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Fall	1815	4.0	55
Coahuila	Iron	IIA	5.49	-	Find	1837	2060	54
Cold Bokkeveld	Chondrite	CM2	-	0-91	Fall	1838	5.14	46
EET79001	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Find	1979	7.942	63
Gibeon	Iron	IVA	7.68	-	Find	1836	18600	62
Hoba	Iron	IVB	16.56	-	Find	1920	60000	40
Holbrook	Chondrite	L6	-	25	Fall	1912	219	36
Imilac	Stony iron	Pallasite	9.9	12	Find	1822	366	23
Indarch	Chondrite	EH4	-	-	Fall	1891	27	64
Jilin	Chondrite	H5	-	18	Fall	1976	4000	48

World Meteorites

_______Meteorite_______	Type	___Class___	Ni%_METAL	Fa%_OLIV	History	Date	Mass (kg)	Refs
WORLDWIDE, II for comparison (18)
Juvinas	Achondrite	Eucrite	-	-	Fall	1821	91	47
Knyahinya	Chondrite	L5	-	25	Fall	1866	500	32
Kodaikanal	Iron	IIE-ANOM	8.22	-	Find	1898	16	41
Mezo-Madaras	Chondrite	L3	-	26	Fall	1852	22.7	36
Murchison	Chondrite	CM2	-	-	Fall	1969	100	299
Nakhla	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Fall	1911	40	78
Negrillos	Iron	IIA	5.41	-	Find	1936	28.5	33
Norton County	Achondrite	Aubrite	-	-	Fall	1948	1080	30
Orgueil	Chondrite	CI	-	-	Fall	1864	10.5	113
Paneth's Iron	Iron	IIIE	8.98	-	Find	1873	150	7
Parnallee	Chondrite	LL3.6	-	5-29	Fall	1857	68.9	49
Portales Valley	Chondrite	H6	-	-	Fall	1998	71.384	30
Semarkona	Chondrite	LL3.0	-	20	Fall	1940	0.691	112
Shergotty	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Fall	1865	5.000	70
Sikhote Alin	Iron	IIB	5.87	-	Fall	1947	23000	43
Tieschitz	Chondrite	H3.6	-	10-55	Fall	1878	28	66
Toluca	Iron	IA	8.07	-	Find	1776	2100	86
Zagami	Achondrite	SNC	-	-	Fall	1962	18.16	59

Notes

Mass and some other information are provisional in the case of some of the most-recent falls and finds. Physical specimens have been documented for Akpohon, Leeds and Otasawian (iron meteorites) and Takysie Lake (volcanic rock). No material was recovered in the case of Eastman and Prince George, which are included here only for consistency with earlier meteorite catalogues. Hundreds of "meteorwrongs" have been diagnosed over the years by Canadian museum and university staff: all kinds of slag and metallurgical products ("Malaspina", a steel, may be remembered by a few!), mafic-ultramafic rocks, hematite nodules, pyrite spheroids, geodes and other natural terrestrial rocks considered remarkable by their finders, for reasons of circumstance, density, texture, shape and other features. The finders should not be discouraged: in every few dozen meteorwrongs there is often a meteorite. The latter are sometimes part of an abundant shower or major find (Holbrook, Canyon Diablo), and sometimes a true unknown, new to science: the January 2000 fall of Tagish Lake appears to be in this invaluable category. For further details on all but the latest finds and falls, see the recent 5th edition of the N.H.M. meteorite catalogue (Grady, 2000). See also the web sites of the Meteoritical Society and MIAC and, for specific subjects, relevant parts of the IsoTrace and Turnstone sites.

DEFINITE or POSSIBLE CANADIAN IMPACT SITES

CANADIAN IMPACT SITES 04 October 2001

Site	Refs	Earliest	Total refs. on area
Brent	28	1960
Carswell Lake	12	1960	31, 1960-
Charlevoix	5	1971
Clearwater Lakes	17	1960
Deep Bay (on Reindeer Lake)	13	1960
Eagle Butte	2	1994
Elbow	1	1998
Gow Lake	1	1991
Gulf of St. Lawrence	3	1960
Haughton	29	1981
Holleford	20	1960
Ile Rouleau	1	1976
Lac Couture	4	1960
Lac de la Presqu'ile	2	1990
Lake St. Martin	5	1979
La Malbaie	2	1968
Manicouagan	32	1960	74, 1960-
Maple Creek	3	1992
Mecatina	3	1960
Menihek Lake	3	1960
Mistastin	5	1969
Montagnais	3	1990
New Quebec / Ungava / Chubb	19	1960
Nicholson Lake	3	1968
Pilot Lake	1	1968
Skeleton Lake	3	1970
Skootamatta Lake	1	1978	23, 1940-
Slate Islands	22	1981
Steen River	4	1977
Sudbury	140	1969	1036, 1889-
Wanapitei	13	1971	72, 1934-
West Hawk Lake	8	1960

32 definite / suggested impact sites. Others (e.g., Des Plaines, La Moinerei) are not
mentioned in current MINLIB records. Thanks to Burkhard Dressler for spotting omissions!

REFERENCES

GRADY,MM (2000) Catalogue of Meteorites. Natural History Museum,
London / Cambridge University Press, 5th edition, 690pp. plus CD-ROM.

GRAHAM,AL, BEVAN,AWR and HUTCHISON,R (1985) Catalogue of Meteorites.
British Museum (Natural History), London, 4th edition, 460pp.

KISSIN,SA, PLOTKIN,H and BORDELEAU,A (1999) The Leeds, Quebec meteorite:
its strange history and a re-evaluation of its identity. J.Roy.Astron.Soc.Canada 93, 135-139.

SMITH,DGW, FOLINSBEE,RE and HALL-BEYER,M (1973) A note on the mineralogy and
classification of the Vilna meteorite. Meteoritics 8, 197-199.

TRAILL,RJ (1980) Catalogue of the National Meteorite Collection of Canada
Revised to December 31, 1979. Geol.Surv.Canada Pap. 80-17, 19pp.

WHITE,R (1984) Canadian Meteorites. Provincial Museum of Alberta, 43pp.