Image of the Day — Shattercones from the Santa Fe Impact Structure

Shattercones are exposed in a road cut along New Mexico Highway 475 near Santa Fe NM and are evidence of an ancient meteorite impact structure. See our Lite Geology Issue 40 for more information.

The shattercones are on the North Side of NM 475, the road to Hyde Memorial State Park and the Santa Fe Ski Basin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and about 1000 feet east of the Chamisa trailhead.  They are behind a concrete barrier placed by the NM Highway Department to contain the frequent rockfall from the road cut.  There is a pullout on the south side of the road opposite the road cut.  There are curves in both directions that make it difficult to see oncoming traffic, so be very careful crossing the road.

Samsung SM-G900V Exposure: 4.8 mm (35mm equiv: 31mm) f/2.2 1/704 sec ISO 40.