Alberta's huge beaver dam sparks media buzz
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 | 1:57 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
External Links
- EcoInformatics - The longest beaver dam in the world
- Telegraph.co.uk - World's biggest beaver dam can be seen from space
- TheSun.co.uk - Beaver dam seen from space
- Metro.co.uk - Beaver dam so big it can be seen from space
- Beavers put hoover dam to shame with dam that can be seen from space
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
View Larger Map
British and American media are buzzing about the world's largest beaver dam, which is in northern Alberta and was first found using Google Earth in 2007.
The dam on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park is about 850 metres long. It's common for beaver dams in Canada to reach 500 metres in length.
Park officials said the dam is in an inaccessible part of the park just south of Lac Clair, about 190 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray.
Biologists estimate the dam would have taken at least 20 years to build. It is visible in NASA satellite imagery from 1990.
The dam first jumped into the global spotlight a few years back.
"[Beavers] are one of the few species that really leave a footprint on the Earth that is visible from satellite," ecologist Jean Thie told CBC News in an interview in 2008.
Thie said he discovered the dam while scanning satellite images for signs of climate change.
The previously reported largest beaver dam was a 652-metre structure in Three Forks, Mont., Thie said.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Air Canada confident it can reach deal with pilots
- Travellers flying Air Canada can keep booking their flights as negotiations continue with a new federally appointed mediator to help resolve an ongoing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- A bill that would give police and intelligence agencies new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications is needed to protect against child pornography, says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- New iPad anticipated in March
- The latest version of Apple's iPad tablet will launch in early March, according to blog and media reports this week. more »
- Higgs boson hunt aided by energy boost
- The world's largest particle accelerator is ramping up its beam energy in hopes that scientists will learn definitively this year whether the last undiscovered particle in the Standard Model of Physics exists. more »
- Nortel hit by suspected Chinese cyberattacks for a decade
- Hackers based in China enjoyed widespread access to Nortel's computer network for nearly a decade, according to a report. more »
- U.S. weighs steep nuclear arms cuts
- The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 per cent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Glacier Discovery Walk: Will the visitor centre enhance the view? Feb. 14, 2012 9:22 AM Environment minister Peter Kent has announced the construction of a new Glacier Discovery Walk and visitor centre on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. It raises the issue of how to balance commercial development in our National Parks against the preservation of the last refuges of wilderness.
Quirks & Quarks
- February 11: Inside the Mind of a Neandertal Feb. 10, 2012 4:01 PM Can we get inside the mind of a species that's been dead for 30,000 years? A new book, How to Think Like a Neanderthal, suggests we can. The authors reconstruct a creature like us in many ways, but with important differences.
Latest Features
- Online surveillance critics accused of supporting child porn
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- HMCS Corner Brook collision damage extensive
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Mooning Queen proves costly for Australian man
- MacKay says submarine fleet has 'spotty' history
- Man kidnapped at Greyhound station escapes captors
- Stanley Cup rioter seen in brick attack on cop
