Summary (tl;dr)

Scientists have confirmed the existence of a 390-million-year-old, 25-kilometer-wide meteorite impact crater in a remote part of Quebec, Canada, after an amateur astronomer first identified a suspicious circular feature on Google Maps.

Essential Background

In 2024, Joël Lapointe, an amateur astronomer, was exploring Google Maps to plan a camping trip in Quebec's Côte-Nord region when he noticed a distinct, nearly perfect circular indentation around Lake Marsal. The unusual topographical feature prompted him to contact scientific researchers, as it did not correspond to any known impact craters in existing geological databases.

The Full Story

A massive 390-million-year-old meteor impact crater, approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) in diameter, has been officially confirmed in Quebec, Canada, after its initial discovery via Google Maps. Following the alert from amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe in 2024, a team of geologists, co-led by Gordon Osinski of Western University and Jérôme Gattacceca, embarked on a challenging field expedition to the remote site in October 2025. Their investigation yielded definitive evidence of an extraterrestrial impact, including the discovery of shatter cones and large amounts of impact melt rock, which are geological formations unique to high-velocity impact events. The newly recognized crater has been named Uhackatik. The findings are scheduled to be formally presented at the annual congress of the Meteoritical Society in Germany next month.

Why It Matters

This discovery is highly significant as it adds a rare and substantial previously unrecorded impact crater to Earth's geological record, furthering our understanding of ancient cosmic collisions and planetary evolution. With Canada already boasting the most known impact craters globally, this new addition provides valuable data for planetary scientists studying impact events. Furthermore, it underscores the profound contributions that citizen science and publicly accessible tools like Google Maps can make to scientific exploration, demonstrating that even today, major geological discoveries can originate from keen observation by the public.

Geographic Location

• Lake Marsal, Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada (site of the 390-million-year-old Uhackatik meteor impact crater discovery and confirmation)
• London, Ontario, Canada (location of Western University, where lead researcher Gordon Osinski is a professor and conducted studies)
• Aix-en-Provence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (location of the European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences, where researcher Jérôme Gattacceca is based and conducted studies)
• Germany (location for the upcoming presentation of research findings at the Meteoritical Society's annual congress)