Gibeon Meteorite Strewn Field — One of Earth's Largest

The area around Gibeon lies at the centre of the second-largest meteorite strewn field ever recorded on Earth — an ellipse 390km long and 120km wide. The iron meteorites fell in prehistoric times and were discovered by the Nama people, who used fragments to forge assegai (spear) heads and tools — some of the earliest metal working in southern Africa. In 1836, British captain J.E. Alexander collected samples near the Fish River and sent them to London, where astronomer John Herschel confirmed their extraterrestrial origin. Total mass recovered: over 26 metric tons. All Gibeon meteorites are proclaimed National Monuments — it is illegal to remove or damage any fragment found in Namibia.