Amateur stargazer Joël Lapointe made an intriguing find in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region in 2024 while casually exploring Google Maps. What he stumbled upon turned out to be a previously unidentified meteor crater dating back 390 million years, a discovery later confirmed by a team including planetary geology professor Gordon Osinski.
Osinski, part of a four-member team that physically verified the crater in 2025, expressed his excitement at the find. Despite receiving numerous false alerts about potential new craters, Osinski emphasized the importance of continued vigilance, citing the unexpected nature of discoveries like this one.
The team’s findings will be presented next month in Germany at the annual congress of the Meteoritical Society, which focuses on planetary sciences research. Following Lapointe’s initial discovery that garnered widespread attention in 2024, Osinski and geologist Jérôme Gattacceca embarked on a challenging expedition to the crater site.
The team spent five days at the location, collecting samples and images for further analysis in labs in France and Ontario. Osinski described the expedition as one of the most difficult he had ever undertaken due to the rugged, overgrown terrain and the unconventional method of reaching the site via a float plane.
At 25 kilometers in diameter, the newly discovered meteor crater is among the largest in the world, with only around 200 such craters known globally. During their research, the team identified significant deposits of impact melt rock, a result of the intense heat and pressure generated by the impact.
Additionally, they uncovered shatter cones, distinctive rock formations caused by shock waves that are unique to impact craters and nuclear test sites. The fieldwork allowed the researchers to date the crater at 390 million years old and provided valuable insights into the geological processes involved.
Geologist Gattacceca praised the discovery as a testament to the Earth’s enduring capacity to surprise and delight scientists. Lapointe, the amateur astronomer who initiated the chain of events leading to the crater’s confirmation, expressed his joy at the outcome and commended the respectful choice of the crater’s name, Uhackatik.
In an email to Radio-Canada, Lapointe encouraged others to trust their instincts and observations, highlighting the potential for unexpected discoveries even outside one’s area of expertise.