The first two fragments of the Gold Basin meteorite were found on Nov. 24, 1995. Radiocarbon tests at the University initially dated the Gold Basin meteorite at approximately 15,000 years. This date was confirmed in 2001 as being 15,000 years plus/minus 600 years. It is theorized that 15,000 years ago, a small asteroid hit Earth's upper atmosphere with an energy of between ten to one thousand tons of TNT. Preliminary evidence suggests the asteroid may have been two to three meters in diameter. It lost energy as it plowed through Earth's ocean of air, then it exploded, probably 10 to 30 kilometers above the ground over more than 130 square kilometer of Mohave County in northwest Arizona, near Meadview, Arizona. The Gold Basin asteroid, which fell to the earth near the end of the last ice age, is the first “fossil” strewnfield found outside of the Antartica. It is classified as an L4-6 S4 W1-2 ordinary chondrite.