Manicouagan Crater and Reservoir As Seen From Orbit

One of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the ISS recorded this image which features the Manicouagan Crater and reservoir located primarily in Manicouagan Regional County Municipality in the Cote-Nord region of Quebec, Canada.
Scientists believe the crater was caused by the impact of a 5 kilometer (3 mile) diameter asteroid about 215.5 million years ago (Triassic Period). The crater is a multiple-ring structure about 100 kilometers (60 miles) across, with its 70 kilometer (40 mile) diameter inner ring as its most prominent feature; it contains a 70 kilometer (40 mile) diameter annular lake, the Manicouagan Reservoir, surrounding an inner island plateau, Rene-Levasseur Island. Because it is so unique and easily recognizable from the sky and space, the crater has been the subject of hundreds of images from astronauts for 45-plus years.

ISS038-E-025350 (2 Jan. 2014) – Larger image