Joël Lapointe may have already been excited as he combed through the terrains and valleys in Google Maps to plan an adventurous camping trip to Quebec's Côte-Nord region. But his excitement surged to another level when he came across something unusual hiding in there. Before he knew it, he was already on his way to experience the adventure of a lifetime and came across a nine-mile spherical crater camouflaged between a ring of small mountains that circled Marsal Lake, about 60 miles north of Magpie, Quebec, reported CBC. The crater first caught Lapointe’s attention when he noticed that a curve in the maps appeared “suspicious.”
Representative Image Source: Volcanic landscape of Easter Island (Getty Images)
Curious to explore the strange site, Lapointe got in touch with a French geophysicist Pierre Rochette. Being a professional at identifying formations like these, Rochette readily dedicated himself to investigating Lapointe’s discovery. Today he is examining the aforementioned site along with his fellow researchers, and they think it's a “potential meteorite impact crater.”
Representative Image Source: Meteor shower. Elements of this image furnished by NASA (Getty Images)
"Looking at the topography, it's very suggestive of impact," said Rochette, as per CBC. Although this explanation has not been confirmed yet, if it is confirmed, it would be the second discovery of a meteorite impact crater after a similar crater of this size was first found in 2013, according to The Independent. NASA explains that an impact crater is usually formed when an object like that of an asteroid or meteorite crashes into the boundary of Earth. It vaporizes and triggers ferocious shockwaves to travel through the ground, that melts and recrystallizes rocks.
Tara Hayden, a postdoctoral associate at Western University's Department of Earth Sciences told CBC that some craters can even date back to millions of years ago or hundreds of millions of years ago. Plus, they could have been formed by some of the ancient planets that no longer exist, or some of the earliest solar system material. Gordon Osinski, a professor from the same university further revealed that 31 of the world's nearly 200 confirmed impact craters are in Canada.
Representative Image Source: Erta Ale active volcano in Ethiopia. (Getty Images)
One of the primary evidence that made researchers think of this site as a “meteorite impact crater” is its rich deposits of a mineral called zircon, Rochette explained to CBC. Zircon is a mineral that is formed by the intense pressure and heat triggered by a "meteorite impact." According to The Independent, researchers propose that this particular crater could have been formed somewhere between 38 to 450 million years ago. However, they are not hundred percent sure of this fact.
Representative Image Source: Abstract liquid background (Getty Images)
As for the next step in this investigation, the French and Canadian researchers are collaborating. Osinski is also planning to visit the remote site with the French team by 2025. He explains that before confirming anything about the odd crater, the team would be required to perform some tests. The first of these would be to look for the presence of “shatter cones,” which appear like grooves or lines on a rock's surface and are credible evidence for a meteorite impact.
Studying craters like these can offer geoscientists some fresh insights into the evolution of Earth, space, and the kind of cosmic objects that collided with the Earth throughout its history. “We thank Joel Lapointe, from Shawinigan, Quebec, for pointing to us this potential crater,” the researchers said, as per The Independent.
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President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
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The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.