Red Canyon Lake 38°8.245'N, 119°45.487'W Tuolumne Co., California, USA Fell: 11 Aug 2007 Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H5) History: Just after midnight on August 11, 2007, a bright fireball traveling in a S57°E direction was witnessed throughout northern and central California. Representatives with the Sonora Police Department and both the Tuolumne and Calaveras County Sheriff's Departments fielded numerous calls early on the morning of the 11th in regards to a loud boom, and structures shaking. Campers around Markleeville, Soulsbyville, and Beardsley Lake reported sonic booms and ground shaking. A video from the fireball from Yuba City placed the breakup at 5 ' +7 " past midnight. A single stone was picked up by a hiker, Ben Deutsch near Red Canyon Lake, Tuolumne County, California, shortly after the fireball event. Physical characteristics: One black fusion-crusted stone was recovered. The interior of the stone is exceptionally fresh with no signs of oxidation of the metal. Matrix is light gray with an abundance of metal and sulfide and a smattering of well-defined, gray, <1 mm chondrules. Only one stone of 18.41 g was recovered. Read more (PDF)
Shortly after midnight, on August 11, 2007, a large fireball was witnessed throughout northern and central California by thousands of people. The fireball began to break up over the Sierra Nevada range, moving in a south easterly direction. Residents in the Pinecrest area described a terrifying noise, and several people indicated they were nearly knocked off their feet, while inside their homes, from the energy released during the break up. Read more