Manicouagan Reservoir,
Canada December 1983
Located in a rugged, heavily timbered area of the Canadian Shield in Quebec
Province, Manicouagan Reservoir is impressive in this low-oblique, west-looking
photograph. The reservoir, a large annular lake, marks the site of an impact
crater 60 miles (100 kilometers) wide. Formed almost 212 million years ago
when a large meteorite hit Earth, the crater has been worn down by many
advances and retreats of glaciers and other processes of erosion. The reservoir
is drained at its south end by the Manicouagan River, which flows from the
reservoir and empties into the Saint Lawrence River nearly 300 miles (483
kilometers) south. Photo courstesy of NASA |