Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 21

Geologists Confirm 15.5-Mile Quebec Crater as 390-Million-Year-Old Meteorite Impact

Updated

Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 21

Geologists Confirm 15.5-Mile Quebec Crater as 390-Million-Year-Old Meteorite Impact

Q: This crater formed just before a mass extinction. Could the impact have triggered the devastation that followed?

Probably not. The newly identified Uhackatik crater is dated to about 390 million years ago, while the Late Devonian extinction unfolded much later, mainly around 375 million and 359 million years ago. That leaves a gap of roughly 15 to 30 million years, which is far too large to support a direct cause-and-effect link of the kind seen with the Chicxulub impact and the dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago. The crater is also modest compared with known extinction-scale impacts. Uhackatik is about 25 kilometers wide, whereas Chicxulub is about 180 kilometers wide and is tied to a global iridium layer, worldwide ejecta, abrupt climate disruption and a mass die-off at the same geological boundary. No such globally recognized extinction marker has been reported for Uhackatik. Scientists studying the Late Devonian extinction more often point to long-running environmental stresses, including ocean deoxygenation, climate swings, carbon-cycle disruption, sea-level change, expanding forests drawing down CO2, and possibly large-scale volcanism. Those explanations fit the drawn-out nature of the Devonian crisis better than a single impact event. That said, the crater’s age does make it scientifically interesting. Researchers will want to refine the dating and compare it with Devonian environmental records. But based on what is known now, Uhackatik is best seen as an important geological discovery, not a likely trigger of the mass extinction that followed millions of years later.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 21

A 15.5-mile-wide circular structure in Quebec's Côte-Nord region has been identified as the Uhackatik impact crater, with researchers planning to present the find at the Meteoritical Society meeting in August.
Joël Lapointe first spotted the formation on Google Maps in late 2023 while planning a camping trip, then contacted scientists after he could not find it in existing crater databases.
A 2025 float-plane expedition led by Western University's Gordon Osinski found shatter cones and impact melt rock at the remote site—definitive signs of an ancient meteorite strike.
Researchers estimate the impact occurred about 390 million years ago, and Osinski said only one or two new craters are typically identified worldwide each year; Canada had not reported one since 2010.
Because erosion and geologic activity erase most ancient impact scars, well-preserved sites like Uhackatik can help scientists study how collisions shaped Earth and compare craters across the moon, Mars and other rocky worlds.

Sources

USA TODAY2d ago

Google Maps Search Leads to Discovery of 390-Million-Year-Old Uhackatik Meteorite Crater in Quebec

Colombia One2d ago

Scientists Use Google Maps to Confirm 390-Million-Year-Old Crater

Smithsonian Magazine2d ago

Amateur Astronomer's Google Maps Find Leads to Confirmation of 15.5-Mile Uhackatik Meteorite Crater in Quebec

5 Sources

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The Uhackatik Crater: Quebec’s Newly Confirmed 390-Million-Year-Old Meteorite Impact and Its Global Scientific Impact

Overview

The Uhackatik Crater, recently confirmed as a 390-million-year-old meteorite impact site, marks a landmark geological discovery that began with a Quebecer's keen observation. Despite its large size, the crater remained hidden due to difficult access and the challenges of identifying ancient structures. Its confirmation not only provides crucial insights into Earth's ancient history and the powerful impact events that shaped our planet, but also highlights the ongoing potential for major discoveries even in well-explored regions. This find sets new precedents for scientific exploration and collaboration, showing that significant breakthroughs can still surprise us.

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