An intrepid hiker just found something unbelievable on Google Maps — and it’s been hiding in plain sight for 390 million years

An amateur astronomer has discovered a meteorite crater on Google Maps
The crater is thought to be 390 million years old
The finding was verified when a scientists visited the site and found telltale rock formations

Sometimes, I find myself idly browsing Google Maps, marveling at the wondrous locations I can spy from a satellite’s vantage point. Sadly, though, I’ve never discovered a 390-million-year-old meteorite crater while enjoying my nerdy pastime — but one clever Canadian has just managed to do exactly that.

Speaking to The Canadian Press, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe said he was plotting a summer hiking trip in Québec when he spied a strange ring-shaped indentation in the ground spanning some 15.5 miles across.

The circular pit fired up Lapointe’s Spidey-Senses, but he kept telling himself that it was unlikely to be an actual meteorite crater: “I told myself, ‘You haven’t discovered anything, Joël, it’s not possible, they must already know about this.’” Yet, when the formation did not appear in any of the crater databases Lapointe searched, he decided to submit his finding to the experts.

How to find this ancient impact site

A meteorite impact crater as seen from Google Maps. — The meteorite impact crater can be seen from Google Maps. (Image credit: Google / Future)

If you want to view the impact crater for yourself, it can be found at the following coordinates: 51°13’57.3″N, 64°39’53.0″W. Zoom out a little and the circular nature of the crater is clearly visible, with Lake Marsal located at its center.

Lapointe was delighted with his discovery, telling Radio Canada that: “It’s not every day that an ordinary citizen finds a 390-million-year-old crater. I encourage everyone to not ignore intuition or an observation, even if it isn’t part of your field of expertise.”

He’s not the first person to notice something strange depicted within Google Maps’ extensive imagery. Past explorers have found shipwrecks in shallow waters, and discerned commercial aircraft mid-flight, and even what appeared to be a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, although neither of those aircraft can be viewed today, as Google has updated its satellite imagery.

Still, Lapointe’s story shows that sometimes, idly scrolling around Google Maps can lead to impressive discoveries. As Osinski — who often gets erroneous reports of possible craters — put it, “It just goes to show, while 9 out of 10 or 99 out of 100 might not be [impact craters], there could always still be that one that will surprise you.”