A Quebecer may have accidentally found a meteorite crater on the Côte-Nord! But how can we know if a huge rock from space really did crash into our country about… 100 million years ago? Let me explain!
But what do I see?
Last January, Joël Lapointe was planning a camping trip on the Côte-Nord. So he looked at the map of the region on the Google Maps website. A strange circular shape caught his attention. Why? It looks like a crater (a word that means “big hole”) formed by a meteorite.
The mysterious hole is about 15 kilometers in diameter and has a lake in its center. And it’s well hidden! It’s located more than 100 kilometers from Magpie, the nearest village.
A rock that remembers shocks
Joël Lapointe shared his discovery with French scientist Pierre Rochette. His mission will be to determine if it is indeed a crater formed by a meteorite. Here’s how he will proceed.
1D step: analyze rock samples that were collected in the 1990s at this location. He has already found zircon, a mineral, there. When it undergoes a major impact (like receiving a space rock in the face), zircon keeps a trace of it. Pierre Rochette and his team must therefore analyze the zircon to see what it has undergone!
2e step: determine the date of the impact. It is also by analyzing the minerals that the scientist will be able to know when the meteorite fell. “The impact probably took place a very long time ago,” he says. By the way, in rock years, “a very long time” means “at least 100 million years.”
3e step: explore! You will have to go into the crater and collect other rocks, which could have melted or even… be composed of extraterrestrial materials!
Canadian craters!
Does this news surprise you? In fact, 31 confirmed meteorite craters have already been discovered in Canada. In total, there are 190 worldwide. The Manicouagan crater, also on the North Shore in Quebec, is particularly impressive with its 75 kilometres in diameter. It is believed to have been caused by the impact of a meteorite approximately 215 million years ago.
By Camille Lopez
According to an article by Pauline Gravel, The Duty
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