Researchers Confirm 390-Million-Year-Old Quebec Crater After Amateur Spots 15.5-Mile Scar
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Jul 24
Researchers Confirm 390-Million-Year-Old Quebec Crater After Amateur Spots 15.5-Mile Scar
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Jul 24
Summary
A 390-million-year-old meteorite impact crater in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region has been identified after amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe spotted the formation on Google Earth while planning a 2024 camping trip.
An October 2025 expedition led by researchers including Western University’s Gordon Osinski found field evidence consistent with an impact crater, then took samples for lab tests on rock melting and shatter cones.
Osinski said it is the first case he knows in which a public sighting was ultimately established as an impact crater; the formation was named Uhackatik in consultation with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit.
The crater is about 15.5 miles wide and joins a rare class of roughly 200 known impact craters on Earth, many of which have been erased over time by tectonic activity and weathering.
Researchers plan to present the finding at a Meteoritical Society conference in Germany next month, where they expect formal scientific confirmation and broader discussion of what the crater reveals about Earth and impact risks.