An ecologist recently discovered a beaver dam in Canada so large that it's visible from outer space.
Considering all we humans have built on this beautiful planet of ours, it’s a bit surprising that there’s not all that much to see from space. Astronauts have spotted The Great Wall of China from orbit – but now there’s another surprising structure visible from the shuttle: a beaver dam.
Not just any beaver dam, mind you. This one, located in the vast protected wilderness of Wood Buffalo National Park in the Canadian province of Alberta, is over 850 metres (2,788 feet) long! The dam’s impressive size shatters the previous record for the largest beaver dam held by one 652 metres (2,140 feet) long in Three Forks, Montana.
How did such a massive edifice remain unnoticed for so long? Jean Thie, an ecologist and the executive director of the Canadian Institute of Geomatics in Ottawa, found the dam by accident while inspecting satellite photos for possible changes due to global warming. “In addition to looking at permafrost melting, I started looking at beaver dams and (was) just scanning all of northern Canada,” Thie told CBC News.
The dam is located about 190 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Fort McMurray, Alta., just south of Lac Clair. Situated within the wide-open expanses of Wood Buffalo National Park and sheltered from the encroachment of civilization by the Birch Mountains, it’s likely the dam has never been seen by people at ground level. There may be other large dams in the area, which is a very rich habitat for beavers. These industrious members of the rodent family have made an impressive recovery after being hunted for their fur over the past several centuries. Given sufficient time and privacy, they can construct complex dams of astonishing size.
“These are some of the most amazing beaver landscapes in the world,” said Thie. “I would not be surprised if we find a longer dam there than the one we have found so far.”