Seven Wonders of Canada
Prairie Sky, Canadian Prairies
Vast, brooding, or uncannily blue, the “Big Sky” of the Canadian prairies has been nominated over and over again, in different ways, as one of the true wonders of Canada.
Video Report
Prairie Sky (3:03)
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Judges' Comments
Judges' Comments (0:39)
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Audio Nominations
Jennifer Ratslav (0:58)
Marie Winsill (0:27)
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Email Nominations
Patti Turk
When I thought about the 7 wonders of Canada it occurred to me that my entire life has been spent under a wonder and that would be the Prairie Sky. To me a wonder should evoke a sense of awe, feelings of mystery and majesty, power and constancy. Our Prairie Sky has taught us to look up, as those of us who depend on the weather are inclined to do. From a towering thunderhead at noon, to the stunningly beautiful northern lights at midnight we have a constantly changing canvas of colors, textures and activity. Our Prairie Sky is never boring, always changing, yet always there. There is room to breathe as deep as you like under a sky like ours.
Meg
A prairie sky… moves and shifts and changes like it's a breathing, living thing. The colours, the patterns, the great expanse… You won't believe it until you see it, complimenting an entire horizon of uninterrupted gold wheat. It's breathtaking.
Jim Palmquist
As the sky gets darker and darker the power increases almost to the point where at times it can be frightening.
P. Geif
I would like to nominate the late summer prairie landscape almost anywhere in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta. In particular I would nominate the landscape in late summer just when thunderhead clouds are building up before a storm but the sun is still able to break through in places to provide a sharp contrast between the glorious color in the fields and the darkness of the sky and pending storm.
Did you Know?
- William Francis Butler was a military officer during the first Riel Rebellion. In his book The Great Lone Land (1872), he described the prairie skies and landscape as follows:
“No ocean of water in the world can vie with its gorgeous sunsets; no solitude can equal the loneliness of a night-shadowed prairie: one feels the stillness, and hears the silence, the wail of the prowling wolf makes the voice of solitude audible, the stars look down through infinite silence upon a silence almost as intense… One saw here the world as it had taken shape and form from the hands of the Creator. Nor did the scene look less beautiful because nature alone tilled the earth, and the unaided sun brought forth the flowers.”
- The Prairie Skies have inspired many things – including a trendy new line of paint colours. The Colourlovers website lists “Sudden Storm”, “Harbinger”, “Edge of the World” and “Homestead” in their “Prairie Skies” colour palette.
- Predicting the Prairie Skies: In a part of the country where the big prairie sky affects most aspects of farming life, Gus Wickstrom was a farmer known for using pig’s spleens to predict weather. Wickstrom’s method is mentioned in The Old Farmers Almanac (www.almanac.com). He claimed to be more accurate than Environment Canada… enough said!
- Jared Mysko – the founder of Saskatoonscanner.com – is what they call a “storm chaser” – which is kind of the Saskatoon version of a trainspotter!
- Renowned prairie artist Tony Tascona is another person who understood the elements of sky and horizon, as can be seen in his gorgeous work, “Assiniboine Prairiescape”. (http://www.ccca.ca )