Geologists Confirm 390-Million-Year-Old Uhackatik Meteorite Crater in Quebec

In 2024, while planning a camping trip using Google Maps, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe spotted an unusual, near-perfect ring centered around Lake Marsal in Quebec. Suspecting it might be a geological anomaly, he cross-referenced his finding with existing crater databases. Finding no record of the structure, he reached out to experts, setting in motion a scientific investigation that would eventually confirm the site as one of the largest such discoveries in recent years.

The 2025 Expedition to Uhackatik

The discovery eventually caught the attention of Gordon Osinski, a planetary geologist at Western University who runs the Impact Earth project. Osinski, who noted that he frequently receives tips about potential craters that turn out not to be the case, remained skeptical until the team conducted a field investigation in October 2025. The mission was physically demanding, requiring the team to navigate rugged, remote terrain in the Côte-Nord region.

“This was one of the most arduous expeditions I’ve ever done — and I’ve done 25 expeditions to the Arctic and 6 continents. The terrain was incredibly rough and rugged, plus [there were] lots of bugs.”

Gordon Osinski, planetary geologist at Western University

Upon arrival, the researchers—including Osinski and Jérôme Gattacceca of the European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences—sought definitive proof of an impact. Because the crater spans 25 kilometers (approximately 15.5 miles), finding the original meteorite fragments was considered unlikely, as pieces of meteorites are usually found in smaller craters. Instead, they searched for geological markers of extreme pressure.

Scientific Evidence of Impact

The team successfully identified two primary indicators of a meteor strike: shatter cones and impact melt rock.

These findings allowed the researchers to date the crater to approximately 390 million years ago, placing the event in the Devonian period. This era predates the existence of dinosaurs, mammals, and humans, occurring when life on land was still in its early stages of development.

Naming and Geological Significance

Following the confirmation, the site was officially named Uhackatik, a designation reached through consultation with the Ekuanitshit Innu Council.

For Lapointe, the experience has been a validation of his amateur interest in astronomy. I told myself, ‘You haven’t discovered anything, Joel, it’s not possible, they must already know about this,’ he told the Canadian Press.

The research team plans to present their full abstract at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Germany in August 2026. As for future work, Osinski noted that the samples collected during the 2025 trip will continue to be analyzed to better understand the dynamics of the impact, which he described as capable of melting literally tens of cubic kilometres of the Earth’s crust.