The Top Five Canadian Lesser-known Wonders
This 270 kilometre long, straight sided, bathtub-shaped bay has the worlds highest tides: there is a whopping 16 metre difference between the higher and low tide marks. 100 billion tonnes of water rush in and out twice a day, an amount equal to the daily discharge of the entire worlds freshwater rivers.
http://wayfaring.info/images/hopewell_rocks1.jpg
The water goes from the bottom, up until the tree line.
Fun fact: the weight of the water causes Nova Scotia's countryside to tilt slightly.
Location: between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
4) Iceberg Alley
Icebergs, 10 000 years old or older, break off from Greenland and float by Newfoundland. They usually get trapped in bays and melt or continue on. Dozens of them can be seen at any given time, sometimes right by the shore, sometimes kilometres off it. It's the only place in the world that icebergs can be seen without going hella north.
http://www.hicker.de/data/media/65/eisberg_4058.jpg
Fun fact: this is where the Titanic met it's downfall. Great idea, Titanic, floating into iceberg alley. Real smooth.
Location: eastern shore of Newfoundland and Labrador.
3) Athabasca Sand Dunes
A 100 kilometre stretch of sand, as tall as a ten story building. It formed 8500 years ago, when rushing rivers deposited sand at the end of lakes formed by melting glaciers. Eventually, the waters backed away from the shore, leaving behind massive amounts of sand. After being ravaged by the wind, dunes formed.
http://wc-zope.emergence.com:8080/WildernessCommittee_Org/campaigns/wildlands/boreal/saskatchewan/images/western_august.jpg
Fun fact: 10 plants, found nowhere else in the world, flourish here. On a pile of sand. ?
Location: the southern shore of Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan.
2) Pingualuit Crater
It's named "where the land rises" by the Inuktitut people for a reason: the sides of this crater rise 160 metres above the surrounding tundra. It formed when a massive meteroite hit, 1.4 million years ago. It's a 267 metre deep lake, with no rivers running in or out.
http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/pingualuit/CraterLakeRF2.jpg
Fun fact: It's in Quebec. As in french people. LOL.
Location: northern Quebec.
1) Burgess Shale
Containing millions of prestine fossils of ancient creatures from the times of dinosaurs. Heading up there, it's hard NOT to find some fossils. It formed in a huge underwater land slide, millions of years ago, that trapped and preserved the creatures. People kept taking the fossils so now you need a guide to accompany you.
http://www.trilobites.info/walcottquarry.jpg
Fun fact: a while after it's discovery, the Smithsonian museum in Washington went up to Canada and jacked about half of the fossils to put on display. Go Canada.
Location: Field, British Colombia.
Honorable mentions:
- giant nickel (Sudbury, ON)
- giant whale head (South Dildo, NL)
- giant brick (Dartmouth, NS)
- giant lobster (Shediac, NB)
- giant pitchfork (Regina, SK)
- giant easter egg (Vegreville, AB)
- giant western boot (Edmonton, AB)
- giant hockey stick (Duncan, BC)
- giant potato (PEI)
- giant blueberry (NS)
- Magnetic Hill:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Magnetic_Hill.jpg/450px-Magnetic_Hill.jpg
It's an optical illusion: this hill is going upwards. (NB)
This 270 kilometre long, straight sided, bathtub-shaped bay has the worlds highest tides: there is a whopping 16 metre difference between the higher and low tide marks. 100 billion tonnes of water rush in and out twice a day, an amount equal to the daily discharge of the entire worlds freshwater rivers.
http://wayfaring.info/images/hopewell_rocks1.jpg
The water goes from the bottom, up until the tree line.
Fun fact: the weight of the water causes Nova Scotia's countryside to tilt slightly.
Location: between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
4) Iceberg Alley
Icebergs, 10 000 years old or older, break off from Greenland and float by Newfoundland. They usually get trapped in bays and melt or continue on. Dozens of them can be seen at any given time, sometimes right by the shore, sometimes kilometres off it. It's the only place in the world that icebergs can be seen without going hella north.
http://www.hicker.de/data/media/65/eisberg_4058.jpg
Fun fact: this is where the Titanic met it's downfall. Great idea, Titanic, floating into iceberg alley. Real smooth.
Location: eastern shore of Newfoundland and Labrador.
3) Athabasca Sand Dunes
A 100 kilometre stretch of sand, as tall as a ten story building. It formed 8500 years ago, when rushing rivers deposited sand at the end of lakes formed by melting glaciers. Eventually, the waters backed away from the shore, leaving behind massive amounts of sand. After being ravaged by the wind, dunes formed.
http://wc-zope.emergence.com:8080/WildernessCommittee_Org/campaigns/wildlands/boreal/saskatchewan/images/western_august.jpg
Fun fact: 10 plants, found nowhere else in the world, flourish here. On a pile of sand. ?
Location: the southern shore of Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan.
2) Pingualuit Crater
It's named "where the land rises" by the Inuktitut people for a reason: the sides of this crater rise 160 metres above the surrounding tundra. It formed when a massive meteroite hit, 1.4 million years ago. It's a 267 metre deep lake, with no rivers running in or out.
http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/pingualuit/CraterLakeRF2.jpg
Fun fact: It's in Quebec. As in french people. LOL.
Location: northern Quebec.
1) Burgess Shale
Containing millions of prestine fossils of ancient creatures from the times of dinosaurs. Heading up there, it's hard NOT to find some fossils. It formed in a huge underwater land slide, millions of years ago, that trapped and preserved the creatures. People kept taking the fossils so now you need a guide to accompany you.
http://www.trilobites.info/walcottquarry.jpg
Fun fact: a while after it's discovery, the Smithsonian museum in Washington went up to Canada and jacked about half of the fossils to put on display. Go Canada.
Location: Field, British Colombia.
Honorable mentions:
- giant nickel (Sudbury, ON)
- giant whale head (South Dildo, NL)
- giant brick (Dartmouth, NS)
- giant lobster (Shediac, NB)
- giant pitchfork (Regina, SK)
- giant easter egg (Vegreville, AB)
- giant western boot (Edmonton, AB)
- giant hockey stick (Duncan, BC)
- giant potato (PEI)
- giant blueberry (NS)
- Magnetic Hill:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Magnetic_Hill.jpg/450px-Magnetic_Hill.jpg
It's an optical illusion: this hill is going upwards. (NB)
Yes, there is actually a place in Newfoundland called South Dildo and Dildo, for those who are wondering. :p
You forgot to mention Magnetic Hill! It's a natural optical illusion and I'm not even sure how it works, but apparently when you're driving down the hill you're actually going up it. Water Flows up this hill to. If you go in and put your car in neutral, you will go up the hill. Don't ask me how it works - it totally boggles my mind. It's in New Brunswick.
Also, somewhere in PEI there is a giant potatoe, and there is a giant Blueberry somewhere near the NB border, here in Nova Scotia. Where is there a giant brick in Dartmouth though? I live in Halifax and I've never heard of it :S
Edited in." Yes, there is actually a place in Newfoundland called South Dildo and Dildo, for those who are wondering. :p You forgot to mention Magnetic Hill! It's a natural optical illusion and I'm not even sure how it works, but apparently when you're driving down the hill you're actually going up it. Water Flows up this hill to. If you go in and put your car in neutral, you will go up the hill. Don't ask me how it works - it totally boggles my mind. It's in New Brunswick. Also, somewhere in PEI there is a giant potatoe, and there is a giant Blueberry somewhere near the NB border, here in Nova Scotia. Where is there a giant brick in Dartmouth though? I live in Halifax and I've never heard of it :S "
I'm not sure where the brick is specifically, but here's a pic:
http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/dartmouth.jpg
Rather unimpressive, really.
" Yes, there is actually a place in Newfoundland called South Dildo and Dildo, for those who are wondering. :pYup I'm from good ol' NL and hey had an article in the paper about "Dildo days" and they had Mrs.Dildo competition where men dressed like girls... kind of odd.
See, this is the thing that bugs me most about my country's culture. While the 7 Wonders of the world were incredible feats of man, Canada's "wonders" are either the result of natural processes, or are useless tourist traps. Yeah, I know it's also a signal transmitter, but it doesn't need to be much more than 300 metres, so that means (at least) 40% of the CN tower is a waste, especially considering it's not even number 2 in the list of the world's tallest free standing structures anymore.
" See, this is the thing that bugs me most about my country's culture. While the 7 Wonders of the world were incredible feats of man, Canada's "wonders" are either the result of natural processes, or are useless tourist traps. Yeah, I know it's also a signal transmitter, but it doesn't need to be much more than 300 metres, so that means (at least) 40% of the CN tower is a waste, especially considering it's not even number 2 in the list of the world's tallest free standing structures anymore. "That can be said about 95% of all tourist attractions in the world. Don't be prepared to be impressed if ever you travel.
I will go to places worth visiting.
But my point was more about the "natural wonders" than about the tourist traps, I just ended up going on a rant about the CN Tower because I'm crazy (AKA from Toronto).
I think that the Canadian Light Source Synchotron in Saskatchewan is far more noteworthy, for example, and I bet most Canadians don't even know it exists.
" @pirate_republic: Well, when I travel, I won't be visiting tourist attractions, since their only value is the attraction of tourists and their foreign currencies.Meh, Canada has thousands of wonders, man made or otherwise. Many are very cool, many are very boring. These are just some that came to mind.
I will go to places worth visiting.
But my point was more about the "natural wonders" than about the tourist traps, I just ended up going on a rant about the CN Tower because I'm crazy (AKA from Toronto).
I think that the Canadian Light Source Synchotron in Saskatchewan is far more noteworthy, for example, and I bet most Canadians don't even know it exists. "
Don't get me wrong, I'm pro-Canadarm, I just think Canadians have done other neat shit too.
I want to move to Canada. There seems to be a lot of cool things about it. Of course there are some drawbacks too...
@Suicrat: My bad, I thought you were just hatin' on Canada.
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