Canadian Arctic

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Entry posted by korver · September 4, 2021

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true earth

Today we're taking a trip to a region that has some of the world's most extraordinary natural sights - the Canadian Arctic. Compromising the Canadian territories the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the northern parts of a number of other provinces such as Quebec, this region has countless lakes, islands, and rivers that are home to some of the world's most unique wildlife, natural phenomenons, plant species, and much more. If you can withstand the frigid temperatures and harsh weather, there's plenty of one of a kind sights that you won't want to miss out on. I've made further progress as of late creating custom lot editor textures, FSH replacements, and terrain mods to make these scenes as accurate and faithful as possible - so let's take a look at what this frozen landscape has to offer.

Before we venture off into the Arctic, we'll have a quick stay in Edmonton, Alberta - Canada's 5th largest city is a vibrant urban center on the edge of the wilderness and the country's northern most metropolis. Serving as the capital of Alberta, it's also a key financial and industrial hub in the region. We won't be staying here long, however - as we'll be catching a flight out in the morning to explore the many wonders of the north.

A look at Edmonton at nighttime - with a view of one of the city's most iconic skyscrapers, the Telus Plaza. Constructed in the early 1970s, this 441 ft tall highrise was the city's tallest building for over a decade.

Our flight takes us over Fort McMurray, Alberta - due to its location near valuable oil sands, massive industrial complexes have sprung up and smokestacks can be seen for
miles around.

Further north towards the Arctic Circle, massive open pit mines can be found throughout the landscape - with diamonds and coal being the primary resources being extracted.

We begin our trek through the wilderness - and it's where we get our first real taste of what the Arctic has to offer. Massive forests spread out for hundreds of miles around in every direction - but slowly they're being logged, and these once pristine lands are being permanently changed.

The Yukon is home to some of the Canadian Arctic's most rugged and pristine wilderness areas that haven't yet been touched by man. Small mountain streams make for a beautiful sight amongst fall foliage in the foothills of the northern Mackenzie Mountains.

We hop aboard a plane for some aerial views of the Canadian Arctic's best sights - and eventually, we've arrived over the impressive delta of Mackenzie River. One of the world's largest deltas, this massive arctic wetlands region spans out for miles in a fan like maze and is quite mesmerizing from above. One of the Mackenzie River Delta's most unique sights is the Pingo - these mounds of soil are filled with a core of expanding ice and usually a small pool of water at the top - and when the ice melts, the pingo collapses. Their name originates from Inuvialuktun word for "small hill" - and can reach huge diameters, sometimes as many 2,000 feet wide.

The Canadian Arctic is also home to one of the world's most unique phenomenon - Aurora Borealis. An aurora, sometimes referred to as polar lights or the northern lights, is a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions.

Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind - and can make for a mesmerizing, dazzling sight in the night sky.

Although the temperatures here can be truly frigid - the locals have adapted the terrain and have lived in small, circular huts made of ice and snow known as igloos for generations.

We travel further north into the Arctic - and we'll be taking a plane ride over Canada's massive Arctic archipelago, home to the country's largest island, Baffin Island. It's home to some of the Canadian Arctic's largest glaciers and most majestic mountain ranges - and they're truly breathtaking from the air.

To conclude our journey, we hop aboard a trawler to explore the icy waters of Baffin Bay - and we get a close up look at one of the world's most unique natural wonders, the iceberg.