On the trail of the Willamette Meteorite

By J. Brian Monihan

The West Linn Tidings, Jun 24, 2010

Mark Buser from West Linn, in center, led a guided tour June 11 at Fields Bridge Park to discuss the Willamette Meteorite with visiting government officials.

J. Brian Monihan / West Linn Tidings

West Linn resident Mark Buser was the official tour guide recently for a group of government officials visiting West Linn while finishing a five-day tour of the route of the Missoula Ice Age Flood.

The group toured the Willamette Meteorite Interpretive Trail at Fields Bridge Park on June 11. They were impressed with the design of the information areas along the trail as well as the sculpture of the meteorite, they said.

The Willamette Meteorite – made from iron and nickel and found in 1902 – is now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It is said to be the sixth largest found meteorite in the world. The meteorite was deposited in West Linn during the Missoula Floods, which the West Linn replica and trail depicts.

With enabling legislation passed authorizing federal involvement in the creation of the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, the National Parks Service has been given the oversight responsibilities to produce a plan involving all the agencies involved in the project. According to Terry Darby, with the National Parks Service, the goal is to create a plan “that unifies everyone in one direction.”

The group was composed of members from the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Society, U.S. Corps of Engineers, State Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service. Buser serves as the current president of the Ice Age Floods Institute.

– Assistant Editor Nicole DeCosta

contributed to this report

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