Joël Lapointe was messing around with Google Maps when he made a potentially huge scientific discovery. He was planning a camping trip in Québec’s Côte-Nord region when he noticed an odd circular pit about 9 miles wide around Marshall Lake. It’s about 60 miles from the nearest village.
Lapointe contacted a French geophysicist named Pierre Rochette, and now the two think they may have discovered an ancient meteor crater.
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Their theory might be right. Initial research has found traces of the mineral zircon, which is usually formed under high-pressure conditions—like, say, meteorite impacts. There’s also tons of topological evidence, too, like the fact that from space the area looks like a giant hole.
I’m no scientist, but it seems to me that giant holes are a dead giveaway from meteor impacts. But that’s why I’m no scientist. Because an actual scientist, a Canadian geologist named Gordon Osinski, told the CBC that people actually find circular geological formations using Google maps all the time. Nine times out of 10, he said, they’re just plain old holes with no cosmic significance whatsoever.
If it does prove to be a crater left behind by an ancient meteor impact, it will add to the 31 already known impact craters in Canada. After presenting their findings at to the Meteoritical Society, Rochette and Canadian Osinski plan to raise funds for a field expedition to the site in 2025. If everything goes according to plan, the team will conduct additional tests and verify the crater’s origin.
