LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The rush was sparked after a 70-ton meteor plummeted through the atmosphere, creating a deafening sonic boom as it crashed to Earth. It was heard from Sacramento to Las Vegas and released energy equal to one-third the explosive power of an atomic bomb.

The meteorite is believed to have been the size of a minivan as it hit the earth's atmosphere and shattered, scattering rare rocks across the California countryside.

The meteor dates back to five billion years ago. Fragments contain a very rare rock called CM chondrite.

An extremely rare type of meteor containing water and the building blocks of life, collectors are paying as much as $1,000 a gram for prime specimens.

Locals have been scavenging fields, hillsides and even their own back gardens to "make hay" on the gift from above.

Thousands of prospectors, known as "meteor zombies," are scouring the Californian desert in the hope of finding a tiny black nugget.

"People used to pull gold out of the ground. Now, things fall out of the sky. Lucky place, I guess," newspaper reporters quoted Nasa researcher Scott Sandford as saying.

Most of the meteorites found till date are tiny, with the largest weighing 19 grams.

© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.