René-Levasseur Island
René-Levasseur Island is the large island in the centre of this image. Image courtesy of NASA. | |
René-Levasseur René-Levasseur | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Manicouagan Reservoir, Rivière-aux-Outardes / Rivière-Mouchalagane, Quebec |
| Coordinates | 51°23′50″N 68°41′30″W / 51.39722°N 68.69167°W |
| Area | 2,020 km2 (780 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 952 m (3123 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Babel |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| Regional county municipality | Manicouagan |
René-Levasseur Island is a large island in the centre of Lake Manicouagan in Quebec, Canada. Its highest peak is Mount Babel, at 952 m (3,123 feet), which is contained in the Louis-Babel Ecological Reserve. The Manicouagan Reservoir and René-Levasseur Island are sometimes called the "eye of Quebec".
With a total area of 2,020 km2 (and a diameter of 50.7 km), the island is larger in area than the annular lake in which it is situated. René-Levasseur Island is the world's second-largest lake island (the largest is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron).
The geological feature was formed by the impact of an asteroid 214 million years ago. The asteroid is believed to have been about 5 km in diameter, and would have hit Earth at a speed of 17 km/s, the fifth most powerful known impact that Earth has seen. The impact of the asteroid formed a crater roughly 100 km in diameter, which has since been eroded to 72 km. The central peak of the crater forms the island known today.
When the Daniel-Johnson dam was opened in 1970, the Manicouagan River flooded, creating the Manicouagan Reservoir. This merged two crescent-shaped lakes: Mouchalagane Lake on the western side and Manicouagan Lake on the eastern side creating an artificial island.