Pingualuit crater

61.271598604548 - 73.650431701821Koordinaten: 61 ° 16 ' 18 "N, 73 ° 39 ' 2" W

The Pingualuit crater ( Crater Pingualuit English, French cratère of Pingualuit; Inuktitut, " where the land rises ," former names are Chubb Crater ( 1950-1968 ) and later New Quebec Crater or cratère du Nouveau -Québec ( 1968-1999 ) ) is an impact crater on the Ungava Peninsula in northern Quebec, Canada. It has a diameter of 3.44 km, a depth of 400 m and was in the Pleistocene before 1.4 ± 0.1 million years ago.

The crater rises 160 m above the surrounding him tundra landscape. The height of the crater rim reaches 657 m above sea level. The 267 m deep and 6.4 km ² Pingualuk Lake is located in the center of the crater. It has a mean diameter of 2.8 km, and a maximum diameter of 3.2 km. The lake is one of the deepest lakes in North America. The water quality of the lake is extraordinary, with a salt content of less than 3 ppm. In comparison, the salinity of the Great Lakes is 500 ppm. Only the Lake Mashu in Japan has a clearer water than the Pingualuk Lake. Founded in 2004 and 1133.90 km ² Provincial Park Parc National des Pingualuit includes the crater and its surroundings.

Discovery

For a long time remained the water-filled crater for the general public unknown. Only the Inuit living in the region knew him and called the lake because of its clear water, the "Crystal Eye of Nunavik ". During the Second World War pilots used the circular lake for navigation purposes.

On 20 June 1943, the crater was photographed on a meteorological flight over the Ungava region of Quebec from a United States Army Air Force aircraft. The picture showed a huge crater rim, which rose above his environment. In 1948 the Royal Canadian Air Force undertook a program of photographic reconnaissance (photo mapping) of Canada. This technique produced photographs were, however, only in 1950 publicly available.

1950 aroused the unusual terrain in the interest of diamond prospector Frederick W. Chubb, so that it asked the geologist Victor Ben Meen of the Royal Ontario Museum for an assessment. Chubb hoped that the crater could be of volcanic origin and therefore could accommodate diamond deposits, similar to those in South Africa. However meens knowledge of the Canadian Geological this assumption could not be. They both traveled by plane in 1950 to the crater. During this flight, suggested Meen to call the crater " Chubb Crater ".