This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information.

Mapping

The view from above

  • Nov 20, 2012
  • 723 words
  • 3 minutes
Expand Image
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

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.

Expand Image
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.
Expand Image
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.
Expand Image
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.
Expand Image
It looks as though a bucket of paint has been spilled upon the land at the top of British Columbia near Tatshenshini Lake.
Expand Image
Top of the Yukon where the rivers meet the sea.
Expand Image
Lewes Island surrounded by ice in the Northwest Passage.
Expand Image
In the NW corner of the Northwest Territories near Inuvik runs a highway-like river
Expand Image
Ridge like peninsulas separate bodies of water in the Northwest Territories into a formation reminiscent of cells.
Expand Image
Magnificent blue lakes dot the granite in northern Nunavut.
Expand Image
At the northern border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Tuktut Nogait National Park, a snake-like meandering river.
Expand Image
Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.
Expand Image
Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.
Expand Image
Northern Canada is usually thought of as a white desert, but these magnificent colours reveal a different side of the Great White North.
Expand Image
Driving from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw, Man., along Highway 1 is a good eight hours of farm field after farm field.
Expand Image
The Qu’Appelle River’s jagged arms cut right through the grid of Saskatchewan farm fields.
Expand Image
Stratford, Ont., is located in the middle of a sea of farms.
Expand Image
From 10 kilometres above ground, farm plots in Saint Lin Laurentides, Que., take on an almost vortex-like structure.
Expand Image
The landscaping just below Central Park in Burnaby, B.C. has a charming painting-like quality.
Expand Image
The layout and shapes of houses in Elizabeth Park, Ottawa, are reminiscent of a Tetris game.
Expand Image
Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.
Expand Image
Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.
Expand Image
Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.
Expand Image
Canadian suburbia is not known for its aesthetics from the ground, but from above there is an odd beauty in the patterns of planning.
Expand Image
Even highways display a mesmerizing beauty in their geometric structure.
Expand Image
Even highways display a mesmerizing beauty in their geometric structure.
Expand Image
Near Nanisivik, Nunavut, a crater or a Navy base?
Expand Image
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.
Expand Image
Known as “The Badlands Guardian,” this mysterious face in the hills in Medicine Hat, Alta., appears to be wearing a headdress and earphones.
Expand Image
Floating in the water off the University of British Columbia.
Expand Image
A spiral of yachts at Bluffers Park, Toronto.
Expand Image
Interesting lines and shapes atop the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Expand Image
Interesting lines and shapes atop the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Expand Image
Trees grow atop a strange structure in the Yukon.
Advertisement

Help us tell Canada’s story

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Related Content

Mapping

New mangrove forest mapping tool puts conservation in reach of coastal communities

Mangroves provide a range of benefits, including protection from storms and the prevention of coastal erosion

  • 1080 words
  • 5 minutes
historic disease map

Mapping

Q&A: Tom Koch on disease mapping and medical geography

‘Maps aren't magic,’ says University of British Columbia prof — but during disease outbreaks, they can help us sort good information from bad

  • 778 words
  • 4 minutes
Vents and chimneys on an underwater volcano

Science & Tech

Canadian technology takes ocean mapping to new depths

Researchers and industry leaders now have quicker access to data showing the complexity of the world’s seabed. Part five of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster: A six-part series. 

  • 806 words
  • 4 minutes
Colleen Cardinal Cree Indigenous rights activist 60s Scoop survivor

Mapping

Interview: Mapping the displacement of 60s Scoop adoptees

Indigenous rights activist and 60s Scoop survivor Colleen Cardinal discusses her project to map the Indigenous adoptee diaspora

  • 1363 words
  • 6 minutes
Advertisement
Advertisement