On the Trail of the Great Canadian Meteorites
After passing through Madoc, Ontario on our 2022 trip, we finally caught up with it's famous meteorite. Madoc is one of the largest Canadian meteorites. Discovered in autumn of 1854, it's original weight was an impressive 167.8 kg. It is an iron meteorite - now classed as a medium octahedrite IIIAB.
Slice showing the iron - nickel metallic interior of Madoc.
Photos by Dave Kenny. Used with kind permission of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Special thanks to Inna Lykova, Acting Curator / Research Scientist.
The "Madoc Mysteries"
Mystery #1 - where has it been and where is it now ?
The Madoc meteorite is thought to have spent a long time on the ground before discovery because its surface is oxidized.
Most likely it was discovered during the clearing of a farmer's field. It then was used to prop up a barn. William Logan acquired it from the barn's owner, and moved the meteorite to the Geological Survey of Canada museum in Ottawa, starting the National Meteorite Collection. It was put on display at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Small pieces went to museums in Vienna, Paris, London and others. Madoc is well-traveled and has been on display at the Planétarium de Montréal, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Madoc is currently housed on a pedestal in the main entrance at the National Heritage Complex, (the scientific research and storage facility of the Canadian Museum of Nature) in Gatineau, Quebec. A scrolling video display explains about the meteorite.
Mystery #2 - where was it found ?
The exact location is not known. Buchwald (1975) reports it as 44d 30m N, 77d 28m W. However, an imprint on a thick slice of the meteorite at the Canadian Museum of Nature gives it's original location as 44 degrees, 29 min N and 77 degrees, 30 min W.
Mystery #3 - what is Canada's oldest recognized meteorite ?
Madoc was found in 1854 and recognized as a meteorite in a publication in 1855.
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However, the Manitou Asiniy / Iron Creek meteorite was recognized as a significant spiritual object by First Nations people, and as "The Child Who Fell from the Sky" in oral tradition long before it was taken by missionaries in 1866. In fact, Alexander Henry the Younger, a fur trader who kept a detailed daily written journal, reported about this "Iron Stone" in 1810 !