Google Maps Hike Route Reveals Massive 390-Million-Year-Old Meteorite Crater in Quebec

An ordinary Google Maps search for hiking routes led an amateur astronomer to a remarkable geological find: a roughly 15.5-mile-wide (about 25 km) circular depression in Quebec that researchers now say is likely an ancient meteorite impact crater.

How It Was Found

Joël Lapointe, an amateur astronomer from Quebec, noticed the striking round feature while planning a camping and road trip through the Côte-Nord region in late 2023, according to the Canadian Press. The formation lies roughly 62 miles (100 km) north of the town of Magpie. After failing to find the feature in known crater databases, Lapointe contacted researchers, which set a formal investigation in motion.

Field Investigation And Evidence

The discovery reached Gordon Osinski, a planetary geologist at Western University who oversees the Impact Earth database, where the public can submit possible crater reports. Although initially skeptical, Osinski and other researchers visited the remote site in 2025 by float plane and conducted detailed fieldwork under very rugged conditions.

Scientists reported finding shatter cones—cone-shaped fractures in rock formed by intense shock waves—and well-preserved impact melt rock, material created when the heat and pressure of an impact briefly melt surrounding rock. These features are widely accepted as definitive evidence of an ancient meteorite strike.

Name, Age And Significance

Following consultations with the Ekuanitshit Innu Council, researchers named the structure Uhackatik. Preliminary dating suggests the crater formed about 390 million years ago, during a period when primitive amphibians populated Earth and long before dinosaurs, mammals or humans existed.

Scientists note that well-preserved ancient craters are rare because erosion and tectonic activity typically erase impact signatures over hundreds of millions of years. If confirmed, Uhackatik would be among the larger impact structures identified in recent years and offers valuable comparisons for craters on the Moon, Mars and other rocky worlds.

Next Steps

Researchers plan to present details of the discovery at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Germany in August. Laboratory teams continue microscopic and geochemical analyses of collected rock samples to gather additional evidence before publishing a full peer-reviewed report.

“This was one of the most arduous expeditions I’ve ever done,” said Gordon Osinski, reflecting on the challenging fieldwork. Joël Lapointe added: “It’s not every day that an ordinary citizen finds a 390-million-year-old crater.”

Citizen Science Highlight

The find underscores the role that attentive members of the public can play in scientific discovery. Public reporting platforms like Impact Earth help connect amateur observations with professional follow-up and analysis.