An intrepid hiker just found something unbelievable on Google Maps and its been hiding in plain sight for 390 million years
Date:
Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:29:09 +0000
An amateur astronomer has discovered a 390-million-year-old meteorite crater on Google Maps -- Sometimes, I find myself idly browsing
Google Maps , marveling at the wondrous locations I can spy from a satellites vantage point. Sadly, though, Ive 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 Jol Lapointe said he was plotting a summer hiking trip in Qubec when he spied a strange ring-shaped indentation in the ground spanning some 15.5 miles across. The circular pit fired up Lapointes Spidey-Senses, but he kept telling himself that it was unlikely to be an actual meteorite crater: I told myself, You havent discovered anything, Jol, its 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.
Although Lapointe spotted the geological anomaly back in 2023, his hunch
wasnt confirmed to be correct until October 2025. Thats when planetary geologist Gordon Osinski of Canadas Western University conducted a field survey at the location, and discovered impact melt-rock and shatter cones, both rock formations caused by a meteorite impact. The findings which dated the crater as around 390 million years old are due to be presented at the 88th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting in Germany in August this year.
Where to find this site? If you want to view the impact
crater for yourself, it can be found at the following coordinates: 5113'57.3"N, 6439'53.0"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: Its 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 isnt part of your field of expertise.
Hes 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, Lapointes 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.
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/an-intrepid-hiker-just-found -something-unbelievable-on-google-maps-and-its-been-hiding-in-plain-sight-for- 390-million-years
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