ScienceScienceDailyA strange circle on satellite maps turned out to be a 390-million-year-old impact crater
An amateur astronomer planning a camping trip in Quebec accidentally spotted a circular feature on satellite maps that turned out to be a 390-million-year-old meteor impact crater.
An amateur astronomer searching satellite maps for a Quebec camping spot accidentally discovered a massive ancient impact crater. Scientists later found shatter cones that confirmed the 25-kilometer-wide structure was blasted into Earth roughly 390 million years ago.
An amateur astronomer named Joël Lapointe noticed a strange circular feature near Lake Marsal in Quebec while planning a camping trip and alerted scientists, who confirmed it as an ancient impact crater.
A 2025 expedition led by planetary geologist Gordon Osinski found shatter cones in rock outcrops, which form only under the intense pressure of a meteor impact, confirming the 25-kilometre-wide structure.
The site is now believed to be about 390 million years old and adds to only around 200 confirmed impact structures on Earth, with geologists believing hundreds more remain undiscovered.
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