With Google Maps we can access maps of any place in the world from our mobile phone or computer, no matter how far away. Google maps allows us to consult the traffic or public transport layers, as well as the satellite view or the topography of the place that interests us. All this without mentioning Street View, a tool with which we can explore countless places using 360-degree images.
The protagonist of this story is Joël Lapointe, a hiking enthusiast who was using Google Maps to plan his next getaway to the Côte-Nord (Quebec). By checking the area One particular area of the map caught his attention.: It was a sort of pit 15 kilometers in diameter with a curvature that seemed somewhat suspicious.
Early indications suggest we may be looking at an impact crater
The grave in question is located near Lake Marsal, about 100 kilometers north of the town of Magpie, Quebec. Looking closely, he discovered a ring of small mountains eight kilometers in diameter surrounding the lake.
Lapointe then contacted geophysicist Pierre Rochette, from Environmental Geosciences Research Center (a research center in France). Rochette is now part of the group of scientists tasked with determining whether the area could be the impact crater of a meteorite.
According to NASA, an impact crater forms when an object such as an asteroid or meteorite collides with the surface of a larger object, such as a planet. The current hypothesis suggests that Lake Marsal It could have formed after the impact of a meteorite which fell in the region between 450 and 38 million years ago.
Some of the samples taken from the site contain zircon, which could indicate that the rock formed as a result of an impact. The researchers have not yet reached a solid conclusionalthough based on preliminary evidence, they claim that Lake Marsal could become the eleventh structure in Quebec formed by the impact of a meteorite.
Canada currently has 31 of the 200 impact craters in the world, according to Professor Gordon Osinski (Western University). If current suspicions are confirmed, we would be faced with a significant discovery: The last impact crater of this size was discovered in 2013..
Of course, for now we will have to wait to know the definitive conclusion on the origin of Lake Marsal: researchers are raising funds to carry out an expedition that could take place within the next year.
By | Xataka, CBC and The Independent.
Cover image | Google Maps
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