Innisfree, Alberta

"Highway Star"

 

Innisfree is a small centre east of Edmonton, just north of the Yellowhead Highway #16.

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The Innisfree meteorite fell 13 km northeast of this town on February 5, 1977. 

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It was the first Canadian meteorite whose journey through the atmosphere was recorded by several cameras. This enabled a calculation of the original orbit and of the likely fall area. Photos from stations in the Meteorite Observation and Recording Program (MORP) network were used.

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Eleven days later, a 2.07 kg piece was found on snow a few hundred meters from the point predicted. Subsequently several other fragments were found, bringing the total mass recovered to about 4 kg.

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Pieces are kept at the National Meteorite Collection in Ottawa and at the Univ of Alberta, Edmonton.