Wetumpka Impact Crater Discovery and Visitor Center now open, guided tours offered

The site of the greatest natural disaster in Alabama history now has a visitor center in Wetumpka, Alabama.

The Wetumpka Impact Crater Discovery and Visitor Center opened this month in downtown Wetumpka at 124 Company Street. The Center, which is a partnership between the City of Wetumpka, Elmore County and the Wetumpka Impact Crater Commission, is open Thursday through Saturday from 10:00AM  to 4:00PM.

Asteroid released energy 175K times Hiroshima atomic bomb

The Wetumpka Impact Crater is the site of one of the world’s best-preserved marine impact crater.  About 83 million years ago, a cosmic object such as an asteroid or comet estimated the size of a college football stadium —think  Bryant-Denny or  Jordan-Hare stadiums — struck what is now Elmore County on the eastern side of  Wetumpka.

Scientists estimate the energy released by the impact of the object was roughly 175,000 times greater than the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima.

Free Wetumpka Impact Crater Lecture

For the 2nd consecutive year, Dr. David King from Auburn University who has studied the crater for two decades, will give a free lecture about its significance on Thursday, February 22, 6:30PM at the Wetumpka Civic Center. 

Guided tours are available on February 23-24 at Trinity Episcopal Church. Reservations are required. Tickets cost $25 for adults and 15 for children. The tour is not recommended for children below 10. You can pre-register by calling 334-567-5147. 
For additional info, visit the Wetumpka Impact Crater Commission website.

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