A routine Google Maps search for hiking routes and camping stops may have led to a major scientific find. According to the report, an amateur astronomer from Quebec noticed a striking circular depression while mapping out a road trip through the Côte-Nord region.
Researchers now believe the formation could be an ancient meteorite impact crater. If confirmed, it may rank among the largest meteorite craters identified in recent years, turning a casual map search into a potentially important geology and astronomy story.
The discovery highlights how satellite imagery and widely available digital mapping tools can sometimes help spot unusual landforms long before formal field studies begin. In this case, the feature’s shape appears to have stood out clearly enough to raise questions about whether it was created by a massive impact long ago.
Further scientific work would be needed to determine the origin, age, and scale of the site. Even so, the possible crater has already drawn attention because of both its apparent size and the unusual way it was first noticed: through a public mapping platform rather than a traditional survey.
