Manicouagan crater

Manicouagan is a large circular impact structure in central Quebec, Canada, now manifest as a prominent annular lake and island known colloquially as the “Eye of Quebec.” The ring-shaped reservoir and central island make it one of the most visually striking impact features on Earth.

The site’s most immediately visible elements are the roughly circular lake that outlines the crater rim and the central high island of René-Levasseur. From air or satellite views the concentric geometry and island in the middle are readily apparent and often noted in geological literature and tourism imagery.

Geological studies show the structure formed in a single large meteorite impact about 214 million years ago. In the 20th century the crater basin was flooded and incorporated into a hydroelectric reservoir, which accentuated the ring shape and produced the present lake-island configuration.

The Manicouagan structure lies in central Quebec in a remote, boreal landscape. Access is by regional roads and air services to nearby towns, with the feature visible from flights and lookout points along roads that skirt parts of the reservoir.

• Size: The impact structure is approximately 100 kilometres across overall, with an inner ring roughly 70 kilometres in diameter.
• Age: Dating places the impact event at about 214 million years ago, making it one of the better-preserved large terrestrial impact structures of that age.

What to See #

• René-Levasseur Island: René-Levasseur Island occupies the centre of the ring and is formed from the inner uplift of the impact structure; it rises above the reservoir and contains cliffs and ridges visible from the rim.
• Manicouagan Reservoir and rim: The annular reservoir that surrounds the island traces the original crater rim and is a large hydrographic feature formed when the basin was flooded during 20th-century reservoir construction.