Google Maps discovery leads researchers to 390-million-year-old impact crater in Quebec

An amateur astronomer scanning Quebec's Côte-Nord region on Google Maps has inadvertently helped scientists confirm a massive ancient meteor crater. Joël Lapointe noticed a suspicious pit while planning a camping trail, and researchers have now verified that the 15-mile-wide indentation is an impact site dating back roughly 390 million years, Live Science reported.

Live Science'This was one of the most arduous expeditions I've ever done': Scientists confirm that 15-mile-wide pit found on Google Maps is ancient meteor crater

"This was one of the most arduous expeditions I've ever done"

The expedition to confirm the find involved a challenging trek, according to the scientists who studied the site. Lapointe had stumbled upon what he thought looked like a suspicious pit while wandering with his Google Maps view, as reported by cinaradio.com.

cinaradio.comAmateur astronomer saw a pit in Quebec on Google Maps. It turned out to be a 390-million-year-old meteor crater

The crater's age places it in the Devonian period, long before the age of dinosaurs. Its size at 15 miles wide makes it a significant geological feature, though it had gone undetected in the remote, forested region until Lapointe's casual exploration online.

Lapointe's discovery underscores how satellite imagery can empower citizen scientists. What began as a routine search for a camping trail ended with the identification of a structure that had hidden in plain sight for hundreds of millions of years.