Santa Rosa de Viterbo Meteorite

Aerolito de Santa Rosa de Viterbo
A 411 kilogram fragment of the meteorite at the Colombian National Museum
Country	Colombia
Region	Boyacá
Observed fall	No
Found date	1810
TKW	>700 kilograms (1,500 lb)
Santa Rosa de Viterbo in northcentral Boyacá, the town of the meteorite fall

The Santa Rosa de Viterbo Meteorite was found in 1810, in the Tocavita Hill, near the town that holds the same name in the northcentral area of Boyacá, Colombia.^[1]

History

Meteorite being exhibited on the town's central plaza

In early 1810, on a Holy Saturday, a women named Cecilia Corredor found the meteorite near the town in the Tocavita Hill. It was moved to the urban center of Santa Rosa de Viterbo where it served as an anvil in the town's iron foundry for a long time. On 8 September 1877, the Town's Mayor at the time had the meteorite placed on a stone column and exhibited on the town's central park. During the presidency of Rafael Reyes Prieto, the meteorite was moved to Bogotá and was divided into two pieces; one piece got placed in the National Museum of Colombia and the other in foreign museums.^[2] On a later time, jesuits found 3 more fragments of the same meteorite.

Specimens

When the meteorite got first removed from Santa Rosa de Viterbo's main plaza and taken to Bogotá, it was divided into two pieces. One piece, that is of 411 kilograms, remained in Bogotá and got placed at the National Museum of Colombia where it remains while the other was taken abroad to be desplayed in other museums.^[3] The other fragments found are curated mainly at the Pontifical Xavierian University, the National University of Colombia, and La Salle University.^[4]

External links

References