June 30, 1908

On this day in history, the largest recorded "impact event"

occurred when a meteorite hit Siberia with the equivalent of a 12-megaton explosion. The Tunguska event, as it became known, flattened an area of trees over 800 square miles. Although it is still considered an "impact" event the meteorite never actually hit the Earth, thus leaving no crater, instead it imploded between 3 and 6 miles above the surface. Had the meteorite hit a populated area it would

have taken out an entire city.

Decades later the forest that was decimated still struggles to regrow to its former habitat.