The Pingualuit Crater was created about 1.4 million years ago by a meteorite impact that had the force of 8500 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. The 3.44 km (2.14 miles) diameter crater rises 160 meters (520 feet) above the surrounding tundra and is 400 meter (1,300 feet) deep. The lake at the bottom of the crater has a depth of 270 meter (890 feet) and contains some of the purest water in the world. The lake has no inlets or apparent outlets, so the water accumulates from rain and snow and is only lost through evaporation. The crater was discovered in 1943, by a US Air Force plane on a meteorological flight. Pingualuit means “where the land rises” in the local Inuit language.
