Manicouagan - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 51° 22' 27" N; 68° 42' 36" W
Notes
  1. Central Quebec, approximately 180 km NW of Sept-Îles.
Country Canada
Region Quebec
Date Confirmed 1969
Notes
  1. Confirmed based on the presence of abundant but poorly developed shatter cones in the inner lowland of the crater (Dworak, 1969).
Buried? No
Notes
  1. Central uplift and crater-fill melt rocks are well exposed
Drilled? Yes
Notes
  1. Central magnetic anomaly and melt sheet drilled by mining company
Target Type Mixed
Notes
  1. Grenville age amphibolite to granulite facies quartz and feldspar gneiss, with local anorthosites, metagabbro and metasediments overlain by Ordovician limestones, dolomites, slates and sandstones (Murtaugh, 1976).
Sub-Type Dolomite, Gneiss, Limestone, Sandstone, Slate
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 100 km
Age (Ma) 215.40 ± 0.16
Notes :
  1. 215.40 ± 0.16 Ma determined by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of plagioclase from the impact melt sheet (Jaret et al., 2018) Additional age constraints: 214 ± 1 Ma determined by U–Pb ID-TIMS of zircon (Hodych and Dunning, 1992) ~215.5 Ma* determined by U–Pb CA-ID-TIMS of zircon (Ramezani et al., 2005) 213.2 ± 5.4 Ma determined by (U–Th)/He of zircons from the impact melt sheet (Van Soest et al., 2011) 208.9 ± 5.1 Ma determined by U–Pb of titanite from the central uplift (Biren et al., 2014) 214 ± 5 Ma determined by Rb-Sr mineral isochron of impact melt rocks (Jahn et al., 1978) 210 ± 8 Ma determined by K-Ar (Wolfe, 1971) *This age was presented in a conference abstract without supporting data or uncertainties, though (Ramezani et al., 2005) is often credited as the source of an oft-cited age of "215.56 ± 0.05 Ma", it is unclear how that uncertainty entered the literature.

Method :
  1. 40Ar/39Ar
Impactor Type Unknown
Notes
  1. There is no detectable meteorite component in the melt rock (Palme et al., 1978).

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
5
  1. The crater-fill products are partially preserved, although glaciation has severely affected the surface morphology (Grieve and Head, 1983).
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
100 km
  1. The drainage divide between the inner fracture zone and the outer disturbed zone may reflect the erosional remnant of the erosional rim, giving a diameter of ~100 km (Grieve and Head, 1983).
Rim Reliability Index
2
  1. Consists of an outer disturbed zone 150 km in diameter, an inner fracture zone 100 km in diameter, an annular moat 65 km in diameter, an inner plateau 55 km in diameter and a central uplift region 25 km in diameter (Grieve and Head, 1983). Central peak is 5 km from centre, which is a depression (Grieve and Head, 1983). See also (Dence, 1978). Structural uplift is estimated at ~9 km based on the formula of (Therriault et al., 1997), which is reported in (Spray et al., 2010). SU unknown due to predominantly crystalline target rocks.
Crater Morphology
Complex
Central Uplift Diameter
25km
Central Uplift Height
400 m
Uplift Reliability Index
2
Structural Uplift
Unknown
Thickness of Seds
Target Age
Precambrian Palaeozoic
Marine
No
Impactor Type
  1. There is no detectable meteorite component in the melt rock (Palme et al., 1978).
Other Shock Metamorphism
Maskelynite Planar features
  1. Maskelynite (Murtaugh, 1976) (Dressler, 1990). Maskelynite most abundant on the east peak of Mont de Babel, but is widely distributed in microscopic amounts, and has not been found outside the structure (Murtaugh and Currie, 1969). Simple fractures, planar features and isotropization are observed in k-feldspar (Dressler, 1990). Decorated Type A {0001} planar features in quartz (Fig. 7; Robertson et al., 1968). "Deformation lamellae" found in quartz and feldspar (map-unit 12; Murtaugh and Currie, 1969). See (Grieve and Head, 1983) for other shock features."
Shatter Cones
Yes
  1. Shatter cones rarely well-developed (Murtaugh, 1972) (Murtaugh, 1976). Report of shatter cones (in gneiss) up to ~10 km from the centre of the structure (Murtaugh, 1972). Shatter cones occur in the central uplift and are developed in anorthositic rocks; some of them reach sizes up to 2 m in length (Spray et al., 2010). Shatter cones are also observed in some of the larger lithic fragments within suevite (Spray et al., 2010). Shatter cones clasts (in different lithologies) in basal suevite (Thompson, 2011). Abundant, but poorly developed shatter cones in the inner lowland (unit-13; Murtaugh and Currie, 1969).
Planar Fractures
No
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. PDF in plagioclase, quartz grains, K-feldspar and other minerals (Murtaugh, 1976) (Dressler, 1990). PDFs in plagioclase (Dressler, 1990). "Deforation bands approximately normal to (010), filled with fine planar features more or Iess parallel to (010) have been observed in places in the Manicouagan Structure" (Dressler, 1990). "These bands are usually about 0.05-0.3 mm wide" (Dressler, 1990). PDFs in quartz in the rocks of the Manicouagan structure are almost always decorated (Dressler, 1990).
Diaplectic Glass
No
Coesite
No
Stisovite
No
Crater Fill
LB, MB, M
  1. Volume of melt via Table 1 in (Grieve and Cintala, 1992). Clast-free and clast-poor impact melt rocks as crater-fill impactites (melt sheet), as well as dykes in the central uplift, lithic breccias, melt-bearing breccias (referred to as suevitic breccias), and pseudotachylyte veins in the target rocks. The majority of the melt sheet is undifferentiated and 300 m thick, however, in its thickest part, which is approximately 1400 m thick, there is evidence for fractional crystallization (Floran et al., 1978) (Spray et al., 2009) (O'Connell-Cooper and Spray, 2010) (O'Connell-Cooper and Spray, 2011).
Proximal Ejecta
Distal Ejecta
Dykes
M, P
Volume of Melt
1200 km3
Depth of Melting
Mostly 300 m, up to 1400 m

References

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A Larochelle, K L Currie (1967) Paleomagnetic study of igneous rocks from the Manicouagan structure, Quebec, Journal of Geophysical Research 72(16), p. 4163-4169, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JA072i016p04163

J G Murtaugh (1969) Contact metamorphism as evidence of impact origin of igneous rocks in the Manicouagan cryptoexplosion structure, Quebec, Geological Society of America Bulletin Part 7, p. 155, url

R L Fleischer, P B Price, J R M Viertl (1969) Age of the Manicouagan and Clearwater Lakes craters, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta(1963), p. 2-6, url, doi:10.1016/0016-7037(69)90132-X

J G Murtaugh (1972) Shock Metamorphism in the Manicouagan Crytoexplosion Structure, Quebec, Session - International Geological Congress 24(15), p. 133-139, International Geological Congress, [location varies], url

K L Currie (1972) Geology and petrology of the Manicouagan resurgent caldera, Quebec, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 198, p. 1-154

R J Floran, Michael R Dence (1976) Morphology of the Manicouagan ring-structure, Quebec, and some comparisons with lunar basins and craters, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Proceedings 7, R B Merrill, R V Morris, J M Rhodes, T M Usselman (ed.), p. 2845-2865, Pergamon Press, New York, N.Y., url

C H Simonds, J L Warner, W C Phinney, P E McGee (1976) Thermal model for impact breccia lithification; Manicouagan and the Moon, Seventh lunar science conference, R B Merrill, R V Morris, J M Rhodes, T M Usselman (ed.), Pergamon Press, New York, N.Y., pdf

R J Floran (1976) Manicouagan and Popigay structures: Comparative morphology and spatial distribution of impact melt rocks, Planetary Cratering Mechanics 259, p. 30, url

R J Floran, C H Simonds, R A F Grieve, W C Phinney, J L Warner, M J Rhodes, B M Jahn, Michael R Dence (1976) Petrology, structure and origin of the Manicouagan melt sheet, Quebec, Canada: A preliminary report, Geophysical Research Letters 3(2), p. 49-60, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/GL003i002p00049

D L Orphal, P H Schultz (1978) An alternative model for the Manicouagan impact structure, Proceedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference(9, Vol. 2), R B Merrill (ed.), p. 2695-2712, Pergamon, New York, NY, url

P I K Onorato, D R Uhlmann, C H Simonds (1978) The thermal history of the Manicouagan impact melt sheet, Quebec, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(8), doi:10.1029/JB083iB06p02789

R L Coles, J F Clark (1978) The central magnetic anomaly, Manicouagan structure, Quebec, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(B6), p. 2805-2808, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JB083iB06p02805

W C Phinney, M R Dence, R A F Grieve (1978) Investigation of the Manicouagan impact crater, Quebec: An introduction, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(B6), p. 2729-2735, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JB083iB06p02729

C H Simonds, R J Floran, P E McGee, W C Phinney, J L Warner (1978) Petrogenesis of melt rocks, Manicouagan impact structure, Quebec, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(B6), p. 2773-2788, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JB083iB06p02773

J F Sweeney (1978) Gravity study of great impact, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(B6), p. 2809-2815, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JB083iB06p02809

R A F Grieve, R J Floran (1978) Manicouagan impact melt, Quebec 2. Chemical interrelations with basement and formational processes, Journal of Geophysical Research 83(B6), p. 2761-2771, American Geophysical Union (AGU), url, doi:10.1029/jb083ib06p02761

J Arndt, W Hummel, I Gonzalez-Cabeza (1982) Diaplectic labradorite glass from the manicouagan impact crater - I. physical properties, crystallization, structural and genetic implications, Physics and Chemistry of Minerals 8(5), p. 230-239, pdf, doi:10.1007/BF00309482

R A F Grieve, J W Head III (1983) The Manicouagan impact structure; an analysis of its original dimensions and form, Journal of Geophysical Research 88, Suppl.(B2), William V Boynton, Thomas J Ahrens (ed.), p. A807-A818, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JB088iS02p0A807

E Diemann, J Arndt (1984) Diaplectic labradorite glass from the Manicouagan impact crater: II. X-ray diffraction studies and structural model, Physics and Chemistry of Minerals 11(4), p. 178-181, url, doi:10.1007/BF00387849

J C White, J J Fawcett (1991) Impact glass formation in plagioclases, Manicouagan, Quebec, Program with Abstracts - Geological Association of Canada; Mineralogical Association of Canada: Joint Annual Meeting 16, p. 131, Geological Association of Canada, Waterloo, ON

J W Sears, H J Melosh (1992) Collapse of large impact craters in continental lithosphere; results from finite element modelling, Geological Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication 63A, David C Nobes (ed.), p. 136, Christchurch, New Zealand (NZL): Geological Society of New Zealand, Christchurch, url

R V Morris, James F Bell III, D C Golden, H V Jr Lauer (1993) Mineralogical diversity (spectral reflectance and Mössbauer data) in compositionally similar impact melt rocks from Manicouagan Crater, Canada, LPI Technical Report, R M Haberle (ed.), p. 30-32, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

R V Morris, D C Golden, James F Bell III, H V Jr Lauer (1995) Hematite, pyroxene, and phyllosilicates on Mars: Implications from oxidized impact melt rocks from Manicouagan Crater, Quebec, Canada, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 100(E3), p. 5319-5328, url, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/94JE01500

R G Scott, R A F Grieve, M Pilkington (1996) Petrographic and rock magnetic study of the central magnetic anomaly, Manicouagan impact structure, Canada, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 27, Part 3, p. 1163-1164, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

L Boivin (1997) Summary of work in Manicouagan impact structure, LPI Contribution 922, p. 5-6, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

D V Kent, J G Spray (1998) Impacts on Earth in the Late Triassic, Nature 395, p. 126, pdf

J G Spray, S P Kelley (1998) Evidence for a late Triassic multiple impact event on Earth, Nature 392, p. 171-173, pdf, doi:10.1038/32397

L H Tanner (2002) Stratigraphic record in the Fundy rift basin of the Manicouagan Impact; bolide with a bang or a whimper?, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 34(1), p. 31, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

M Simms (2002) Ripples from the Manicouagan impact?, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences 20, Ian Sanders (ed.), p. 100-101, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, url

N J Butterfield (2004) Temporal discontinuity in the impact of impacts; the pre-Phanerozoic follows different rules, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 36(5), p. 321, Boulder, CO, United States (USA): Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

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F D Winslow III (2006) Redating and geochemically fingerprinting the Manicouagan impact melt rock, Stony Brook University, p. 50

E L Walton, J G Spray, C D K Herd (2006) Melting rocks by shock: Localized shock melting in Martian meteorites and target rocks from the Manicouagan impact structure, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 37, p. unpaginated, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, pdf

C Zhou, G Xie, K McFadden, S Xiao, X Yuan (2007) The diversification and extinction of Doushantuo-Pertatataka acritarchs in south China: Causes and biostratigraphic significance, Geological Journal 42(3-4), Rong Jiayu, Ian D Somerville (ed.), p. 229-262, Chichester, United Kingdom (GBR): Wiley & Sons, Chichester, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gj.1062

C D O'Connell-Cooper, J G Spray (2008) New geochemical data from the Manicouagan impact melt sheet, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 40(6), p. 240, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

J G Spray, L M Thompson (2008) Constraints on central uplift structure from the Manicouagan impact crater, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 43(12), p. 2049-2057, url, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2008.tb00660.x

L M Thompson (2008) Allochthonous suevitic breccias at Manicouagan, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 40(6), p. 239, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

J G Spray (2008) The Manicouagan structure as a window into lunar impact melts, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 40(6), p. 240, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

M B Biren, J G Spray, L M Thompson (2008) The anorthositic central uplift of the Manicouagan impact structure, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 40(6), p. 239, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO

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C D O'Connell-Cooper, J G Spray (2010) Geochemistry of the Manicougan Impact Melt Sheet, 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, p. 1755, pdf

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C D O'Connell-Cooper, J G Spray (2011) Geochemistry of the impact-generated melt sheet at Manicouagan: Evidence for fractional crystallization, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 116(6), p. 1-23, url, doi:10.1029/2010JB008084

S D Thomson, A P Dickin, J G Spray (2011) Nd isotope mapping of Grenvillian crustal terranes in the vicinity of the Manicouagan impact structure, Precambrian Research 191(3-4), p. 184-193, Elsevier B.V., url, doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2011.08.006

M B Biren (2012) Shock-related structural insights into central uplift formation in crystalline rocks; the Manicouagan example, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 44(7), p. 629, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

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L M Thompson (2012) Distribution and shock pressure formation for shatter cones; insights from the Manicouagan impact structure, Canada, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 44(7), p. 629, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

C D O'Connell-Cooper, A P Dickin, J G Spray (2012) The Manicouagan impact melt sheet: Evidence for isotopic homogenization with limited assimilation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 335-336, p. 48-58, Elsevier, url, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.033

T Onoue, H Sato, T Nakamura, T Noguchi, Y Hidaka, N Shirai, M Ebihara, T Osawa, Y Hatsukawa, Y Toh, M Koizumi, H Harada, M J Orchard, M Nedachi (2012) Deep-sea record of impact apparently unrelated to mass extinction in the Late Triassic, Proceedings of the National Acedemy of the Sciences of the United States of America 109(47), p. 19134-19139, url, doi:10.1073/pnas.1209486

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M K Roden-Tice, T Palmer, M D Higgins, K Lopez (2014) Differential exhumation along a transect through the Grenville Province from Baie Comeau, QC to Labrador City, NL, via the Manicouagan impact structure, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 46(2), p. 95, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

J J Brown, L M Thompson, J G Spray (2014) Modification-stage tectonics prior to melt sheet emplacement: Constraints from the Manicouagan impact structure, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 45, p. Abstract 2255, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

S J Jaret, S R Hemming, E T Rasbury, L M Thompson, T D Glotch, J Ramezani, J G Spray (2018) Context matters – Ar–Ar results from in and around the Manicouagan impact structure, Canada: Implications for martian meteorite chronology, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 501, p. 78-89, url, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2018.08.016