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Mapping

The view from above

Nov 20, 2012
723 words
3 minutes

By Ilyse Krivel

We know of Canada’s beauty from the ground; the open lakes, towering trees and jutting rocks that define the wild North.

What about from above?

We get glimpses from airplanes, of common air traffic routes over farms and cities. But since 2005, when Google Earth’s satellite technology went public, it is now possible to view this tremendous country in a new way and from a whole new scale. At times reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting, scanning through images of Canada from 10 kilometres above ground reveals a land that spans an intensely complex system of rock, soil, vegetation, lakes and human development.

Fractal patterns can be found everywhere in nature, including The Pelly Mountains in the Yukon, Spatsizi Plateau in B.C., Sirmilik National Park, Nunavut and Ellef Ringnes Island.

Fractal patterns can be found everywhere in nature, including The Pelly Mountains in the Yukon, Spatsizi Plateau in B.C., Sirmilik National Park, Nunavut and Ellef Ringnes Island.

Fractal patterns can be found everywhere in nature, including The Pelly Mountains in the Yukon, Spatsizi Plateau in B.C., Sirmilik National Park, Nunavut and Ellef Ringnes Island.

It looks as though a bucket of paint has been spilled upon the land at the top of British Columbia near Tatshenshini Lake.

Top of the Yukon where the rivers meet the sea.

Lewes Island surrounded by ice in the Northwest Passage.

In the NW corner of the Northwest Territories near Inuvik runs a highway-like river

Ridge like peninsulas separate bodies of water in the Northwest Territories into a formation reminiscent of cells.

Magnificent blue lakes dot the granite in northern Nunavut.

At the northern border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Tuktut Nogait National Park, a snake-like meandering river.

Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.

Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.

Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.

Driving from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw, Man., along Highway 1 is a good eight hours of farm field after farm field.

The Qu’Appelle River’s jagged arms cut right through the grid of Saskatchewan farm fields.

Stratford, Ont., is located in the middle of a sea of farms.

From 10 kilometres above ground, farm plots in Saint Lin Laurentides, Que., take on an almost vortex-like structure.

The landscaping just below Central Park in Burnaby, B.C. has a charming painting-like quality.

The layout and shapes of houses in Elizabeth Park, Ottawa, are reminiscent of a Tetris game.

Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.

Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.

Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.

Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.

Even highways display a mesmerizing beauty in their geometric structure.

Even highways display a mesmerizing beauty in their geometric structure.

Near Nanisivik, Nunavut, a crater or a Navy base?

Houghton impact crater, on Devon Island, NU. The region is thought to have the closest conditions on Earth to craters on Mars. The Mars Institute and SETI use the area for researching what life and work may be like for humans on Mars.