From the World Heritage inscription for Dinosaur Provincial Park: In addition to its particularly beautiful scenery, Dinosaur Provincial Park – located at the heart of the province of Alberta’s badlands – contains some of the most important fossil discoveries ever made from the ‘Age of Reptiles’, in particular about 35 species of dinosaur, dating back …
This summer I had the pleasure of visiting Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. Previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, Haida Gwaii is an archipelago of islands off the northern coast of British Columbia and south of the Alaskan Panhandle. Haida Gwaii means “islands of the people” in the native Haida language. The premier attraction in …
From the World Heritage inscription for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: In 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world’s first International Peace Park. Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant …
From the Joggins Fossil Cliffs World Heritage inscription for Joggins Fossil Cliffs: The Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a 689 ha palaeontological site along the coast of Nova Scotia (eastern Canada), has been described as the “coal age Galápagos” due to their wealth of fossils from the Carboniferous period (354 to 290 million years ago). The rocks …
From the World Heritage inscription for Miguasha National Park: The palaeontological site of Miguasha National Park, in south-eastern Quebec on the southern coast of the Gaspé peninsula, is considered to be the world’s most outstanding illustration of the Devonian Period known as the ‘Age of Fishes’. Dating from 370 million years ago, the Upper Devonian …
From the Old Town Lunenburg World Heritage inscription for Old Town Lunenburg: Old Town Lunenburg is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Established in 1753, it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern drawn up in the home country. The inhabitants …
From the Landscape of Grand Pré World Heritage inscription the Landscape of Grand Pré: Situated in the southern Minas Basin of Nova Scotia, the Grand Pré marshland and archaeological sites constitute a cultural landscape bearing testimony to the development of agricultural farmland using dykes and the aboiteau wooden sluice system, started by the Acadians in …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Red Bay Basque Whaling Station: Situated in Labrador, in north-eastern Canada, on the shores of the Strait of Belle Isle, Red Bay was an Arctic maritime base for Basque mariners in the 16th century. It is the earliest, most comprehensive and best preserved archaeological testimony of a pre-industrial …
I’ve arrived in the islands of Haida Gwaii in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. It is an area which doesn’t get a lot of visitors and few people are familiar with it. It is a shame because it is one of the most special places in North America. 1) Haida Gwaii exists If you’ve looked at …