ALBERTA, Canada – Far in the northern reaches of the Canadian province of Alberta is a beaver dam so big that it’s literally visible from space.
Wood Buffalo National Park is home to the Peace-Athabasca Delta, one of the largest inland fresh-water deltas on the planet. In the middle of said park, far from any civilization, is the world’s largest beaver dam. Visiting the dam requires a multi-day trek through incredibly tough, wet terrain (or a plane).
The damn is about 775 meters in length, or 2,542 feet, while its entire perimeter is closer to 2,000 meters (~6,561 feet). Holding back run-off water from the Birch Mountains, the dam creates what’s likely a meter-deep pond that holds 70,000 cubic meters of water, or nearly 18.5 million gallons. That’s enough water for nearly 38 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Or, if we’re talking Canadian, that’s about 1,600 hockey rinks worth of water.
If you’re interested in how the dam was actually built, or how beavers impact the environment around them, check out this neat short documentary below:
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