Camper Accidentaly Discovers Ancient Meteor Crater on Google Maps - PetaPixel
An amateur astronomer discovered a 390-million-year-old meteor crater in Quebec using Google Maps. Geologists confirmed the discovery by identifying unique impact evidence like shatter cones and melt rock.
Why it matters
Demonstrates the role of citizen science and modern mapping tools in making significant geological discoveries.
When Joël Lapointe was planning an epic camping trip through the Côte-Nord region of Quebec on Google Maps, an area gave him pause for thought: it looked like a giant meteor crater.
“I get lots of messages from the public thinking they have found a crater and 99/100 turn out not to be the case,” Gordon Osinski, a planetary geology professor at Western University, tells Live Science . “This is one of those rare examples that shows this is possible.”
After Lapointe contacted professional researchers when he discovered the suspicious pit in 2024 , a team of geologists set out to investigate the remote area.
“This was one of the most arduous expeditions I’ve ever done — and I’ve done 25 expeditions to the Arctic and six continents,” Osinski tells Live Science . “The terrain was incredibly rough and rugged, plus lots of bugs.”
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