STS085-506-95 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record.
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| STS085-506-95 |
STS085-506-95 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record. |
| Manicouagan Lake, Quebec: Manicouagan Lake, Quebec, is one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the Earth's surface. The area of target rocks, where the ringed lake is now situated, is approximately 70 km in diameter, and composed of impact-brecciated rock eroded by glaciation. The lake surrounds the more erosion-resistant melt sheet in the center of the crater. The impact origin of the crater was confirmed with the discovery of maskelynite in the central uplift. The original crater diameter is 100 km and Manicouagan has been dated at 212 million years. It has been proposed that the impact was created by an asteroid with a diameter of 5 km. Some scientists believe that this impact may have been responsible for a mass extinction at the end of the Triassic, where roughly 60% of all species were lost. |
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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
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