![\"Jo\u00ebl](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/man-discovers-ancient-asteroid-crash-site-google-maps-suspicious-pit-1-800x420.jpg\")
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When Jo\u00ebl Lapointe was planning an epic camping trip through the C\u00f4te-Nord region of Quebec on Google Maps, an area gave him pause for thought: it looked like a giant meteor crater. <\/p>\n
\u201cI get lots of messages from the public thinking they have found a crater and 99\/100 turn out not to be the case,\u201d Gordon Osinski, a planetary geology professor at Western University, tells Live Science<\/a>. \u201cThis is one of those rare examples that shows this is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n After Lapointe contacted professional researchers when he discovered the suspicious pit in 2024<\/a>, a team of geologists set out to investigate the remote area. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was one of the most arduous expeditions I\u2019ve ever done \u2014 and I\u2019ve done 25 expeditions to the Arctic and six continents,\u201d Osinski tells Live Science. \u201cThe terrain was incredibly rough and rugged, plus lots of bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n The terrain was so rugged and overgrown that the seaplane had to drop them over 150 feet offshore, forcing them to wade through the water with all their gear. <\/p>\n To confirm that the site was created by a meteor, Osinski and his team searched for shatter cones, which are traces of shock waves left behind in the rock that are unique to meteor impacts and nuclear bomb test sites. They observed shatter cones on the second day there. <\/p>\n Adding to the evidence, the team also found \u201cspectacular examples\u201d of impact melt rock. \u201cYou can melt literally tens of cubic kilometres of the Earth\u2019s crust when you get a big enough asteroid hitting,\u201d Osinski tells CBC<\/a>. <\/p>\n The team has now dated the previously unidentified crater as a 390-million-year-old meteor impact. There are only 200 known meteor craters in the entire world, and the one in Quebec is 15 miles wide, making it one of the bigger discoveries in recent years. <\/p>\n Lapointe, who is also an amateur astronomer, says he\u2019s pleased about the news. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not every day that an ordinary citizen finds a 390-million-year-old crater,\u201d he says. \u201cI encourage everyone to not ignore intuition or an observation, even if it isn\u2019t part of your field of expertise.\u201d <\/p>\n There are a confirmed 31 meteor craters in Canada, with an estimated 50 in the United States. <\/p>\n PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; if you buy something through such a link, PetaPixel may earn a commission.<\/p>\n Love PetaPixel? Go Premium.<\/p>\n PetaPixel is the world\u2019s largest independent photography publication and we\u2019re only able to continue our work with your help. Become a PetaPixel Member now<\/a> and support our mission to bring you regular, high-quality reviews, features, news, and more.<\/p>\n