V's..ARN's History of Meteorites
© 1996,2006 Astronomical Research Network       

Vaalbult....................................29'45' S.,  22'30' E.  
Prieska division, Cape Province, South Africa
Found 1921, before this year
Iron.  Octahedrite, coarse (2.0mm) (IA).
A mass of about 26lb was found.  
Analysis, 6.84 %Ni, 84.3 ppm.Ga, 323 ppm.Ge, 1.7 ppm. Ir.

Vaca Muerta.................................25'45' S., 70'30' W.  
Taltal, Atacama, Chile
Found 1861, recognized in this year           
Stony-iron.  Mesosiderite (MES).
Large masses up to 25kg in weight were found before 1864. 
In 1888 precisely similar specimens were found on the Llano del Inca,
(small pieces totalling 27lb), and at Cerro de  Dofia Inez, 
(pieces totalling 16lb), both about 100 miles SE. of Taltal. 
Mean composition of the metal,8.8 %Ni, 9.6 ppm.Ga, 42.8 ppm.Ge,2.2 pm.Ir.

Vago........................................45'25' N., 11'8' E.
Verona, Veneto, Italy
Fell 1688, June 21, at night hrs
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H6).
After detonations and the appearance of a fireball, a shower of 
stones fell.  Two of which are  said to have weighed about 136kg and 
91kg respectively, but only a few grams have been preserved.  One 
was a eucrite, one (the largest, 9g) an intermediate chondrite and one, 
7g, a spherical chondrite. Two pieces, 26g and 7g respectively, in the 
Vienna collection in 1921, obtained by A. Brezina from the collection of 
Count Miniscalchi, are spherical chondrites.  These probably came 
from the original Vago, for the piece of Vago originally in the Moscaldo 
Mus. Verona passed into the hands of the Miniscalchi family .

Valdavur....................................11'59' N., 79'45' E.
South Arcot district, Tamil Nadu, India
Fell 1944, October 30, 1700-1710 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H).
A stone of 2799g fell .

Valdinizza..................................44'52' N., 9'9' E.
Pavia, Lombardy, Italy
Fell 1903, July 12, 1000 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6).
Two stones, of 872.5g and 131.5g, were seen to fall.
Analysis, 20.83 % total iron .

Valdinoce...................................44'4' N., 12'6' E.
Forli, Romagna, Italy
Fell 1496, January 26 or 28, 0900 hrs
Stone.
At least five stones fell; the date and time are given as 1497,
26 January, 0400 hrs .

Valencia....................................39' N., 0'2' W.
Valencia, Spain
Find date unknown
Ordinary chondrite (H5)
A 33.5kg stone has long been in a collection at the Univercity of 
Valencia , where it has been known as simply "the meteorite". It 
may be one of many historic falls in the region.

Valentine...................................42'56' N, 100'45' W
Brown County, Nebraska  USA
Found 1942 Spring
Ordinary chondrite  (L4)
A mass of 2300 g was found in a cattle field by E.F. Bohman in the 
spring of 1942.  In the autumn of 1941 a bright fireball had been 
observed in the area.  This meteorite is unrealated to this event, 
because it is heavily weathered .

Valera......................................9º19'0" N, 70º37'42" W
Trujillo, Venezuela
Fell 1972 October 15
Ordinary chondrite (L5)
On the evening of 1972 October 15, a bright light accompanied by a
loud noise was witnessed near the El Tinajero farm.  The next morning,
Dr. Arginiro Gonzales and his guest, Juan Dionicio Delgado,
discovered that a cow had apparently been killed by a falling stone.
The stone had broken into three pieces weighing 38, 8, and 4 kg,
respectively.  The largest specimen remained outdoors for decades
after the fall.  Classification and mineralogy (A. Rubin, UCLA):
olivine, Fa24.2±0.3; shock stage, S4; weathering grade, W3.
Specimens:  main mass, 24 kg, DPitt; 6 kg, Cott; 4 kg, Alan Lang;
type specimen, 100 g, UCLA.

Valkeala....................................61'3' N., 26'50' E.
Kymi, Finland
Found 1962, May        
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6).
One stone of about 4kg was found.  Analysis, 21.22 % total iron .

Valley Wells................................35'28' N., 115'40' W.
San Bernardino County, California, U.S.A.
Found 1929, June 10
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6).
Four weathered fragments,81.9g, 24.0g, 13.5g and 10.5g were found .

Varpaisjdryi................................63'18' N., 27'44' E.
Kuopio province, Finland
Found 1913
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6).
A stone of about 1.5 or 2kg was found in Lukkarila village, Varpaisjimi 
parish, but was later broken up and mostly lost. A fragment of 118g 
was recovered for Helsingfors Mus. Analysis, 21-85 % total iron .

Vavilovka...................................46'9' N., 32'50' E.
Kherson, Ukraine, USSR,
Fell 1876, June 19, 1400 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene  chondrite, amphoterite (LL6).
After detonations, a stone of about 16kg fell about 2 miles from 
Vavilovka, and was broken up by peasants. 
Analysis, 19.91 % total iron .

Veevers.....................................22'58'6' S., 12522'7' W.
Western Australia
Found 1988
Iron  Octahedrite, coarsest  (> 10 mm ) (IIAB)
Thirty four small, metal fragments , the largest 36 g, have been 
recovered around a crater 80 meters in diameter. 
Analysis 5.8% Ni .

Velikoi-Ustyug..............................60'47' N., 46'22' E.
Vologda, Federated SSR, USSR,  
Fell 1250, between 1250 and 1350
Doubtful..
A shower of stones is said to have fallen, but the evidence is not
conclusive.  Very doubtful .

Veliko-Nikolaevsky Priisk...................53'50' N., 97'20' E.
Irkut&kaya, Federated SSR, USSR,
Found 1902, known in this year
Iron.  Octahedrite, fnedium (1.2mm) (IIIA).
The mass, formerly called Biryusa, is now re-named Veliko-
Nikolaevsky Priisk.  A mass of 24.267kg in the Acad. Sci., Moscow, 
was labelled Biryusa.  It had been mentioned by Y.A. Markov in 1902 
as coming from the Veliko-Nikolacvsky mino on the Khoma river, a 
tributary of the Biryusa river.
Analysis, 8.75 %Ni, 21.5 ppm.Ga, 47.4 ppm.Ge, 0.62 ppm. Ir.

Vengerovo...................................56'8' N., 77'16' E.
Novosibirsk, Federated SSR, USSR, 
Fell 1950, October 11, 1849 hrq
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H5).
Several stones fell, but only two, 9.3kg and 1.5kg, were found.  
Analysis, 27.54 % total iron .
 
Ventura.....................................34'15' N., 119'18' W. 
Ventura County, California, U.S.A.
Found 1953
Iron.  Octahedrite, fine (0.4mm) (IRANOM).
A 7.7kg mass was found near the high tide level on the rocky beach 
adjacent to Ventura. 
Analysis, 10.07 %Ni, 14.0 ppm.Ga, 25.0 ppm.Ge, 0.18 ppm.Ir .

Venus.......................................32'24' N., 97'5' W.
Johnson County, Texas, U.S.A.
Found 1960
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H).
A single mass of 1013g was found 1.5 miles S. of Venus, 200 yards 
inside the Johnson County line, during cotton harvesting. 
Main mass, Robert Haag .

Vera........................................29'55' S., 60'17' W.
Dept.  Vera, Santa Fe, Argentina
Found 1941
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L4).
A mass of 80kg was found 15 km NE. of the railway station
Calchaqui, and was broken up into several parts .

Veramin.....................................35'20' N., 51'38' E.
Karand, Tehran, Iran
Fell 1880, May, three hours before sunset
Stony-iron.  Mesosiderite (MES).
After the appearance of a cloud and detonations, a mass of about 
54kg was seen to fall "on the 8th of Jamadi-ul-aval . 
Analysis of metal, 7.32 %Ni, 14.8 ppm.Ga, 56 ppm.Ge, 3.2  ppm.Ir.

Verissimo...................................19'44' S., 48'19' W. 
Goias, Brazil
Found
Iron.  Octahedrite, medium (0.9mm) (IIIA).
A specimen of this name from the Mus. Nac. Brasil has been 
analysed, 7.54 %Ni, 18.3 ppm.Ga, 34.9 ppm.Ge, 14 ppm.Ir in 1980.
Main mass, privately held .

Verkhne Dnieprovsk..........................48'38' N., 34'22' E.
Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine, USSR, 
Found 1876
Iron.  Octahedrite, finest (0.05mm) (IIE).
Original weight and details not  known. 
Analysis, 8.78 %Ni, 22.8 ppm.Ga, 70.4 ppm.Ge, 6.1 ppm.Ir .

Verkhne Tschirskaia.........................48'25' N., 43'12' E.
Volgograd, Federated SSR, USSR, 
Fell 1843, November 12, 1200 hrs
Stone.  Olivinc-bronzitc chondritc (H5), veined.
After detonations, a stone of about 8kg was found.  
Analysis, 27.56 % total iron .

Verkhne Udinsk..............................54'46' N., 113'59' E.
Transbaikal, Federated SSR, USSR,
Found 1854
Iron.  Octahedrite, medium (1.1mm) (IIIA).
A mass of over 18kg was found on the the banks of the river
Niro, a tributary of the Vitim.  Has been heated to 500-800C. 
Analysis,7.46 %Ni, 19.0 ppm.Ga, 39.8  ppm.Ge, 3.3 ppm.Ir .

Verkhnyi Saltov ............................50'06.667΄ N; 36o48.006΄ E
Kharkov district, Ukraine
Found 2001, April or May
Iron , coarse octahedrite (IIIAB)
An iron (21x16x7 cm) weighing 9.53 kg was found during archeological
work at the shore line of the Pechenezhsky water
reservoir, 2 km south of the Verkhnyi Saltov village. This piece
was recovered within the Verkhnesaltov archeological complex.
This site was a big city, a capital of the Khazar state in VIII-X
centures. Classification and mineralogy (M.A.Nazarov, Vernad.):
the piece was enveloped by Fe hydroxide layer of about 5 mm in
thick; kamacite (5.9-6.8 wt% Ni; 0.48-0.59 wt% Co) and taenite
(25.7-30.8 wt% Ni; 0.17-0.34 wt% Co) form the Widmanstatten
pattern with 1.5-3 mm kamacite bandwidths; rare troilitechromite
inclusions are present. INAA data (J. T. Wasson,
UCLA): Ni 79.5, Co 4.99 (mg/g), Cr 42, Cu 146, Ga 20.7, Ge
<41, As 4.99, Ru 8.5, Re 0.258, Ir 3.16, Pt 10.0, Au 0.682 (µg/g)
 indicate the IIIAB group. Specimens: type specimen 1.03 kg,
Vernad; main mass with anonymous owner. 

Vermillion..................................39'44.18' N., 96'21.68' W.
Marshall County, Kansas, U.S.A.
Found 1991 May, recognized 1995
Pyroxene pallasite, Iron with silicate inclusions
A mass of 34.36 kg was found by M. and G. Farrel while plantin in a 
grain field.

Vernon County...............................43'30' N., 91'10' W.  
Vernon County, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Fell 1865, March 26, 0900 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H6), veined.
After the appearance of a fireball and detonations, two stones, 800g 
and 700g respectively, fell and were found five days later.  The first 
being subsequently lost. 

Vetluga.....................................57'48' N., 45'48' E.
Kostroma district, Federated SSR, USSR,
Fell 1949, February 27, day time hrs
Stone.  Achondrite, Ca-rich.  Eucrite (AEUC).
A single mass of 750g fell in a forest 80 metres from the southern 
shore of Bobrovo lake, 7 km from the town of Vetluga .

Vicenice....................................49'13' N., 15'48' E.
Jihomoravsky, Czechoslovakia
Found 1911
Iron.  Octahedrite, medium.
A mass of 4.37kg was found 0.8m deep in clay .

Victoria West...............................31'42' S., 23'45' E.
Cape Province, South Africa
Found 1860
Iron.  Octahedrite, fine (0.2mm) (IRANOM).
A mass of 6.5lb was seen to fall by a Hottentot on a farm 30 miles SW. 
of Victoria West.  The mass is corroded and has been heated to about 
900C.  Chemically anomalous, analysis, 11.8 %Nl, 15.3 ppm.Ga, 31.4 
ppm.Ge, 0.022 ppm. Ir.

View Hill...................................43'19'12' S., 172'3'48' E.
Oxford, Canterbury, New Zealand
Found 1952, approx.
Iron.  Octahedrite, medium (0.8mm) (IIIA).
A single mass of 33.6kg was found.
Analysis, 8.87 %Ni, 21.0 ppm.Ga, 42.6 ppm.Ge, 0.27 ppm. Ir.

Vigarano....................................44'51' N., 11'24' E.
Ferrara, Emilia, Italy               
Fell 1910, January 22, 2130 hrs
Stone.  Carbonaceous chondrite, type III (CV3).
After detonations, a stone of about 11.5kg was seen to fall, and a 
month later a second stone of 4.5kg was found .  Analysis, 22.24 % 
total iron.  The type of a sub-type of carbonaceous  chondrite .

Vigo Park...................................34'41' N., 101'23' W.
Swisher County, Texas, U.S.A.
Found 1934
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L4).
A fragment of 35g, from an original weighing about 1.3kg was 
recognized as meteoritic in 1934.  Another mass weighing 274g was 
found 3 km NE. of the original find-site.  Remains of the original mass 
lost.

Viksdalen ..................................61°02' N, 06°03' E
Norway
Found 1992 July 4
Achondrite (eucrite)
Fragments of a single 470 g stone were found by Steffan Hatlestad, a
12-year-old boy, while walking in the mountains.  Mineralogy and
classification (G. Raade, UOslo):  the meteorite is a breccia with
relic primary gabbroic textures.  The main minerals are plagioclase
(with undulatory extinction) and pyroxene (low-Ca pigeonite).  They
occur as angular clasts (0.05 to 0.7 mm) in a fine-grained groundmass;
subrounded pyroxene grains may be up to 1.2 mm.  Rounded clasts
2.3 mm in size show coarse ophitic to subophitic (gabbroic) textures.
Accessory minerals are silica, ilmenite, titanian chromite, and troilite.
Isolated plagioclase clasts and plagioclase laths from the larger,
gabbroic clasts have similar composition, An86 (mean of three
analyses).  Low Ca-pyroxene has a composition of Fs59Wo2.  Exsolved
augite lamellae vary in composition from Fs26Wo44 to Fs31Wo36.
Scanning an exsolved pyroxene grain gave a bulk composition of
Fs44Wo21. The host pyroxene has small inclusions of troilite, ilmenite,
or plagioclase.  Weathering grade:  W0. Chemical composition (G.
Raade, UOslo):  SiO2 = 49.03%, Al2O3 = 11.58%, Fe2O3 = 0.82%,
FeO = 17.85%, MnO = 0.53%, MgO = 7.12%, CaO = 9.85%, Na2O =
0.58%, K2O = 0.05%, TiO2 = 0.92%, P2O5 = 0.07%.  Specimens:
main mass and type specimen, 459 g plus thin section, UOslo.

Villa Coronado..............................26'45' N., 105'15' W.
Chihuahua, Mexico
Found 1983
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H5).
Three fragments totalling 2.9kg were found .

Villalbeto de la Peña ......................42° 48' N, 4° 40' E
Palencia, Castilla-Leon, Spain
Fell 2004 January 04 16:47 UT
Chondrite (L6)
At about 17:47 P.M. on 2004 January 4, a brilliant fireball of
absolute magnitude -18±2 was seen over a large area of Spain.
The fireball coursed north-eastward and experienced various
explosions along its trajectory. Thundering detonations were
heard over a wide area and a long, smoky trail remained visible
for nearly 30 minutes. A total mass of ~2.5 kg was recovered.
Two specimens (42.03 and 21.76 g) were found by Jose Luis
Allende on January 11-12th. From January 23th to February 8th a
recovery team collected five specimens (61.78g, 32.0g, 126.0g,
34.7g and 32.1g). In addition, a linked second team lead by Javier
Garcia-Guinea (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid)
found seven specimens in the same area (58.91g, 38.12g, 5.83g,
3.87g, 185.7g, 66.31 g, and 119.08 g). Three other individuals
recovered a further 7 stones (52.8g, 51.64g, 50.23g, 46.48g,
33.22g, 18.28 g, and 11.00 g). On March 10th a nearly complete
individual of 1367.6 g was discovered. All the specimens exhibit
a black fusion crust. Classification (Jordi Llorca, Universitat de
Barcelona, Ignasi Casanova, Universitat Politecnica de
Catalunya, Alan Rubin, UCLA): Olivine Fa=24.2±0.2 mol%,
Low-Ca pyroxene Fs=20.3±0.2 mol%, Wo=1.6±0.2 mol%. Shock
stage S4; weathering grade W0.. Specimens: type specimen,
42.03g, and 0.52kg stone, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
Madrid; 63g, anonymous collector; 1568g, anonymous collector. 

Villa Natamoros.............................26'45' N., 105'24' W.
Chihuahua, Mexico
Found 1987
Stone Ordinary Chondrite   (L3)
A single mass weighing 156 grams was found within the strewnfield 
of the Allende fall .

Villarrica..................................25'50' S., 56'30' W.
Paraguay
Fell 1925, July 20, 1900 hrs
Stone.
A stone measuring 12 X 7 X 5.5 cm fell .

Villedieu...................................47'55' N., 4'21' E.
Molesme, Cote-d'Or, France
Found 1890, approx.
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (H4).
A much oxidized stone of about 14kg was found.

Vilna.......................................54'13'30' N., 111'41'30' W.
Alberta, Canada
Fell 1967, February 5, 1855 hrs
Stone.  Ohvine-hypersthene chondrite (L5).
Two small crusted fragments, 48mg and 94mg respectively, were 
recovered from snow on a small lake 15 km NE. of Vilna, after a bright 
bolide had been seen.  The path of the parent bolide was well defined 
in a photograph by the auroral all-sky camera operated by the 
Dominion Observatory at Meanook .

Vincent.....................................35'1' S., 139'55' E.
County Buccleuch, South Australia
Found 1926
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L5).
A single mass of 430g was found, approximately 6 miles NNE. of 
Karoonda.  Analysis, 21.45 % total iron .

Virba.......................................43'32' N., 22'38' E.
Vidin, Bulgaria
Fell 1873, June I
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6), veined.
After detonations, a stone of 3.6kg fell.  The stone stated to have
fallen "June 2, 1883" in a forest at "Virba .

Vishnupur...................................23'6' N., 87'26' E.
Bankura district, West Bengal, India
Fell 1906, December 15, 0930 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite, amphoterite (LL6).
After detonations, two stones were seen to fall, one of 670g
at Kheraibani village and the other of 1767g at Mathura village, 6.75 
miles distant .

Visuni......................................25'27' N., 70'0' E.
Umarkot, Thar Parkar district, Sind, Pakistan
Fell 1915, January 19, 1200 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite chondrite (L6).
After detonations, a stone of 594g fell, 15 miles ENE. of Umarkot.

Vissannapeta................................16º50'N 80º45'E 
Andhra Pradesh, India 
Fell 1997 December 13, 15:30 local time 
Achondrite (cumulate eucrite) 
A 1303.8 g stone fell with a loud thud on Shri Ramulu's roof. 
Classification and mineralogy (S. Ghosh, GSI): a medium- to coarse-grained 
equigranular aggregate of ~49% plagioclase (An92.4-94.3), ~35% orthopyroxene
(Fs44.2-49.7), ~9% clinopyroxene (Fs16Wo42), ~6% SiO2, and <1% chrome spinel; 
the meteorite is a breccia with relict primary gabbroic texture. 
Specimens: main mass, GSI.

Viterbo.....................................42'25' N., 12'7' E.
Lazio, Italy
Fell 1474
Doubtful..
Two large black stones are said to have fallen.  Not conclusive.

Vouille.....................................46'38' N., 0'10' E.
Poitiers, Vienne, France
Fell 1831, May 13, 2300 hrs
Stone.  Olivine-hypersthene chondrite (L6), veined.
After the appearance of a fireball (moving from S. to N.), and 
detonations, a stone of about 20kg was found next day. Contains 
strongly recrystallized clasts in which feldspar has been converted to 
maskelynite.  Analyses, 21.52 % total iron . 

Vulcan......................................50'31' N., 113'8' W.
Alberta, Canada
Found 1962, April          
Stone.  Olivine-bronzite ehondrite (H6).
One stone of 19kg was found .

Vyatka......................................57'32' N , 49' 0' E
Kirov region, Russia
Found 1992
Ordinary chondrite  (H4)
A mass of 40 - 50 kg was found on the shore of the Vyatka river near 
the town Sovetsk, but the main mass was lost!  Iron 27% .
Also know and sold as Kaigorod.