Chaco - Argentina Travel Information

Photos from Chaco

The chaco province is located in the north of Argentina, and is more or less of the beaten track. Never the less, the Chaco province has some interestings places to visit, and interesting things to see..

Campo del Cielo Meteorite

Campo del Cielo is the place where a big meteorite crashed about 5000 years ago. The remains of the meteorite were found scattered all around the area.

Many parts of the meteorite are scattered in different museums in Argentina and around the world and also in the hands of many privet collectors, but the main big part of the meteorite is still at the place where it was founded. The weight of this part is 37 ton, which makes it the second biggest sized meteorite in the world. The name of the remaining part is ?El Chaco?.

The meteorite was first mentioned in 1576, when the Spanish governor learnt from the Indians about a huge rock that according to their belief arrived from the sky. The governor sent a delegation to find out about this thing and the delegation returned with few pieces of a huge metal chunk, which were named ?the iron table? (Meson de Fierro). The place of this chunk was called by the Indians ?the sky field? (Campo del Cielo).

Today the meteorite is lying in the center of a field, exposed to rains and winds that constantly erode it. Another dangerous the meteorite is facing is stilling ? in 1992 Argentina?s police arrested a man while transferring a giant meteorite on a truck. The man was the American meteorites trader Robert Haag and he was accused by Argentina?s police in stilling a notational treasure. Haag claimed that he purchased the meteorite from a local resident that claimed he owns the meteorite. Unfortunately for Haag, the Argentinean authorities did not accept his claiming. However Haag was released but the meteorite remained in Argentina.

The feeling of touching a rock that arrived to earth from a distance of millions km is an amazing feeling that is worthwhile the long and exhausting trip. After all how many people can claim that they sat on 37 tons meteorite?

Getting there

The meteorite is situated in lone Chaco district in North Argentina, near Gancedo village. There are few buses to the village from Resistenciah in South Argentina. Only few travelers arrive to see this wonder of nature.