Amateur astronomer discovers 25-km impact crater in Quebec using Google Maps
A Canadian hobbyist spotted a 25-kilometre circular depression near Lake Marsal, which geologists later confirmed as a 390-million-year-old meteorite impact named Uhackatik.
In 2024 Joël Lapointe was using Google Maps to chart a camping route north of Magpie when he observed a near-perfect circular scar about 25 km across near Lake Marsal. Finding no record of such a feature, he submitted a report to Impact Earth, a crowdsourced crater registry based at Western University. Two years later, a field team headed by Gordon Osinski explored the site, enduring harsh terrain and insects, and uncovered shatter cones and extensive impact melt rock, along with zircon traces, establishing the depression as an impact crater.
The formation has been named Uhackatik in partnership with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, whose traditional lands encompass the area. Geologists date the impact to roughly 390 million years ago, predating the first dinosaurs. Findings will be presented at the Meteoritical Society’s annual meeting in Frankfurt before undergoing peer review.
Why it matters
The discovery adds a rare, large ancient impact crater to the global record, enhancing understanding of Earth’s geological history.
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