Confidence Confirmed Drilled Yes Diameter 100,000 m | Exposed Yes Country Canada Province Québec | |
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Age 214 ± 1 million years old (Triassic Period) Location Rivière-aux-Outardes / Rivière-Mouchalagane, Quebec | ||
Manicouagan crater
The Manicouagan Crater is one of the oldest known impact craters and is the largest 'visible' impact crater on Earth, located primarily in Manicouagan Regional County Municipality in the Côte-Nord region of Québec, Canada, about 300 km (190 mi) north of the city of Baie-Comeau. At roughly 213-215 million years old, Manicouagan is one of the oldest large astroblemes still visible on the surface. Its northernmost part is located in Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality.
Contents
- Manicouagan crater
- Map of Manicouagan Crater RiviC3A8re aux Outardes QC Canada
- Earth from space manicouagan crater
- Hypothetical multiple impact eventEdit
- References
Map of Manicouagan Crater, Rivi%C3%A8re-aux-Outardes, QC, Canada
It is thought to have been caused by the impact of a 5 km (3 mi) diameter asteroid or comet about 215.5 million years ago (Triassic Period). It was once considered to be associated with the end-Carnian extinction event.
The crater is a multiple-ring structure about 100 km (60 mi) across, with its 70 km (40 mi) diameter inner ring its most prominent feature. It also contains a 70 km (40 mi) diameter annular lake – the Manicouagan Reservoir – surrounding an inner island plateau called René-Levasseur Island. It is the earth's sixth-largest confirmed impact crater according to rim-to-rim diameter.
Earth from space manicouagan crater
Hypothetical multiple impact eventEdit
It has been suggested that the Manicouagan crater may have been part of a multiple impact event which also formed the Rochechouart crater in France, Saint Martin crater in Manitoba, Obolon' crater in Ukraine, and Red Wing crater in North Dakota. Geophysicist David Rowley of the University of Chicago, working with John Spray of the University of New Brunswick and Simon Kelley of the Open University, discovered that the five craters appeared to form a chain, indicating the breakup and subsequent impact of an asteroid or comet, similar to the well observed string of impacts of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter in 1994.