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A Camping Search on Google Maps Led to the Uhackatik Impact Structure
In 2024, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe noticed an unusual circular landform near Lake Marsal while looking at online satellite maps for a camping trip. The satellite image was only a lead: shatter cones, impact melt rock and dating analyses provided the evidence for a hypervelocity impact.
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Key takeaways
- In 2024, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe noticed an unusual circular landform near Lake Marsal while looking at online satellite maps for a camping trip.
- The satellite image was only a lead: shatter cones, impact melt rock and dating analyses provided the evidence for a hypervelocity impact.
- Researchers chose the name Uhackatik following discussions with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit; formal catalogue recognition is still pending.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: How did French amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe’s 2024 Google Maps search for a campsite near Lake Marsal lead to the discovery and likely f. Article summary: Lapointe’s campsite search turned into a scientific lead because he recognized that the 25-kilometer ring centered on Lake Marsal looked like an impact structure, reported it to researchers, and their mapping, fieldwork,. Topic tags: general, government, general web, education. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts
A circular pattern on an online map is not, by itself, proof of an impact crater. But near Lake Marsal in Quebec’s remote Côte-Nord region, one such pattern set off a chain of scientific checks that led to a remarkable conclusion: Uhackatik is a roughly 25-kilometre-wide structure formed by a hypervelocity impact about 390 million years ago. 1
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A campsite search that became a scientific lead
In 2024, French amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe was examining online satellite maps while preparing for a camping trip in Côte-Nord. Near Lake Marsal, he noticed an unusually circular feature in the landscape. Rather than dismissing it as a quirk of the terrain, Lapointe wondered whether it could mark an ancient impact and contacted specialists in Europe and North America. 1
His report directed researchers’ attention to the Lake Marsal area as a possible impact structure. The feature’s subtle circular outline can also be seen in Landsat imagery, with Lake Marsal close to its centre. 1
Why a circular shape was not enough
Circular landforms can be produced by many geological processes, including volcanism, tectonic activity and erosion. A satellite image can identify a site worth investigating, but cannot establish how it formed.
Researchers therefore reviewed geological maps, topographic data and available rock samples before conducting a dedicated field expedition. That October 2025 investigation included planetary geologist Gordon Osinski of Western University and produced much stronger on-the-ground evidence. 2
Shatter cones provided the key clue
At the structure’s centre, the team found decimetre-scale shatter cones in Grenvillian basement rock. These cone-shaped fracture patterns form when exceptionally powerful shock waves travel through rock, making them a particularly compelling large-scale indicator of an impact event. 1
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The researchers also reinterpreted the nearby Marsal Breccia Formation. Previously described as volcanic material, it is now understood to be impact-melt rock: a layer potentially up to about 50 metres thick, with columnar joints and fragments of the underlying basement rock. Those features add to the evidence from the shatter cones. 2
Dating the impact to about 390 million years ago
Measurements from oriented core samples indicate an age of about 390 million years, within a range of 370 million to 400 million years. Preliminary lead-isotope data from zircon also point to a compatible youngest age range of roughly 350 million to 400 million years. Together, the analyses support a Devonian-age impact at around 390 million years ago. 2
The research team’s scientific summary concludes that the combined evidence confirms a hypervelocity-impact structure approximately 25 kilometres across. 2
Why it is called Uhackatik — and what remains to be done
After discussions with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, the researchers chose the name Uhackatik for the structure. 2
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The team considers its impact origin essentially confirmed. However, formal listing in official impact-structure catalogues is still subject to review by a Meteoritical Society committee. The most accurate description, therefore, is that Uhackatik has very strong evidence for an impact origin and is awaiting formal recognition rather than having completed that process. 8
What the discovery shows
Uhacakik’s story is a clear example of public observation and specialist research working together. Lapointe did not confirm an impact crater from Google Maps; he identified an intriguing pattern and brought it to experts. The scientific case came from shock features in rock, geological interpretation and age measurements. 1
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That process turned a faint ring around Lake Marsal into one of Canada’s most notable ancient impact structures.
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What is the short answer to "A Camping Search on Google Maps Led to the Uhackatik Impact Structure"?
In 2024, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe noticed an unusual circular landform near Lake Marsal while looking at online satellite maps for a camping trip.
What are the key points to validate first?
In 2024, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe noticed an unusual circular landform near Lake Marsal while looking at online satellite maps for a camping trip. The satellite image was only a lead: shatter cones, impact melt rock and dating analyses provided the evidence for a hypervelocity impact.
What should I do next in practice?
Researchers chose the name Uhackatik following discussions with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit; formal catalogue recognition is still pending.
Sources
science.nasa.govAn Accidental Impact Crater Discovery - NASA Science
economictimes.comA satellite map revealed a mysterious giant circle that was hiding in Canada for 390 million years. One amateur astronomer finally noticed it
earth.comHuge impact crater in Quebec went unnoticed for 390 ...
english.pravda.ruAmateur Satellite Mapper Discovers 25-km Quebec Impact Crater