Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Pingualuit Crater, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada - Heavy Hitters: Earth’s Most Amazing Meteor Craters

Pingualuit Crater, Quebec, Canada

(images via: UNB, Artnet/Stan Gaz, YJT-Korea and Nunavik Parks)

Discovered in the mid-1940's but known to indigenous native people as the "Crystal Eye of Nunavik", Pingualuit crater is the site of a meteor impact that occurred approximately 1.4 million years ago. The lake that today fills the crater is fed only by rain and snow, resulting in exceptional water purity with a salt content of just 3 ppm (the Great Lakes average 500 ppm).

(image via: U Laval)

Formerly known as the New Quebec Crater, Pingualuit crater is located in Quebec's far northern Ungava peninsula and measures 2.14 miles (3.44 km) in diameter.

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