I am reading a National Geographic book on the Canadian Wilderness areas.

[grasswire]

It's a vintage book, and awesome.

I'm wondering if the vast wildernesses in the northerly provinces are still as untouched now as they were thirty or forty years ago.

I will never get to Ellesmere Island, but I can be in awe of it nonetheless.

[applegrove]

1. When I have flown from maritime canada

to Ontario it is amazing how many lakes there are. The towns are few and far between till you get to Montreal area. And that is right along the US border. Never flown up north.

[2naSalit]

2. I can tell you that

the wilderness of the interior, specifically in Alberta and Saskatchewan are f*d up entirely by the tarsands mess. Sad, the trashed out tarsands area abuts the bison refuge as well. Sickening.

When I used to go to Canada often, the eastern provinces, you noticed the difference as soon as you got off the bridge that it was cleaner and more inviting somehow. I get the sense that this is not the case anymore.

[laundry_queen]

8. Maybe in northeastern Alberta

But when I lived in northwestern Alberta it was still pretty much untouched except for a oil or natural gas lease here and there (But they were really spread out). Of course, they tried to ruin that with a nuclear plant near Peace River...that was dropped thankfully.

Northeastern BC is far more untouched. Hundreds of miles of forests. Very vast. Oil and gas was just getting started there when I moved away...my ex still lives there and he says it hasn't expanded much since then.

[longship]

3. Algoma is wonderfully beautiful.

I vacationed there many times in the late 60's and early 70's. northern Ontario, north of Lake Superior is one of the most beautiful areas of the planet.

I flew into the great north via seaplane on the Albany River once with a friend for two weeks of fishing and rough camping. It was a most beautiful place.

There are waterfalls everywhere. The continental divide between the Arctic and the Atlantic is a mere 100 or so miles. That means that the largest fresh water lake on the planet has a watershed only that wide. It rains an awful lot. And the forest is dense. And it's one of the most astounding places on the planet.

The north shore of Lake Superior, Agawa Rock:


The pictographs on Agawa Rock:


Which tell the story of Hiawatha in their original language. Related by trader Henry Schoolcraft to his acquaintance Longfellow who wrote the poem we all know and love. The pictographs were rediscovered in the 20th century when the trans-Canada highway was being built through the area. It is now part of the provincial park there.

Then, there's Aubrey Falls, an out of the way trek which is well worth the effort.


Or nearer to the main drag, Magpie Falls.
The high falls:


And the lower Magpie River falls, Silver Falls:


When the continental divide is right next to the largest fresh water lake on the planet, there's gonna be a lot of waterfalls.



And when next to nobody lives there, it's going to be beautiful wilderness.

[grasswire]

4. beautiful

My ancestors were some of the first non-native settlers in lower Ontario in the eighteenth century. I have never been in the northern part of a province.

[riverbendviewgal]

5. take a trip.

Take a 8 hour drive up to Cochrane. Very few lights and good highway up 11. Beautiful scenery. When you get to Cochrane get a ticket on the polar bear express and go to Moosnee. Dip your toes in the Artic in James Bay whcidh is part of Hudson Bay.

[grasswire]

10. probably will never happen

for several reasons. BTW, 8 hours from where?

[riverbendviewgal]

11. 8 hours from

Toronto

[riverbendviewgal]

6. beautiful pics

Northern ontario is beautiful.

[Nitram]

7. I've spent a lot of time in northern Ontario.

Beautiful lake country. But forests there are totally clear-cut within 200 meters of lakes and streams. After canoeing through what looked like pristine wilderness, it was a shock to fly over and see what was happening just out of view.

[grasswire]

9. oh very sad

I suppose the government owns much of that land but doles out timber permits.