Researchers Confirm 25-km Quebec Meteor Crater Spotted on Google Maps at 390 Million Years Old
Updated
Updated · CBC Sports · Jul 14
Researchers Confirm 25-km Quebec Meteor Crater Spotted on Google Maps at 390 Million Years Old
3 articles · Updated · CBC Sports · Jul 14
Summary
A four-person research team confirmed that a circular feature spotted on Google Maps in Quebec’s Côte-Nord is a previously unidentified meteor crater about 25 kilometers wide and 390 million years old.
Five days of fieldwork in 2025 produced impact melt rock and shatter cones—diagnostic evidence of an asteroid strike—and samples later analyzed in labs in France and Ontario helped date the crater.
Gordon Osinski said the find is among the biggest new crater discoveries in years; only about 200 meteor craters are known worldwide.
Joël Lapointe first flagged the site in 2024 while planning a camping trip, and the crater—named Uhackatik in consultation with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit—will be presented next month at the Meteoritical Society congress in Germany.