Canadian Geographic

18/08/2025

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Super Scooper! 🔥✈️

Across Canada and North America, these iconic aircrafts do more than carry water. By scooping from lakes and oceans to battle wildfires from the sky, they help restore hope in communities facing devastation. 🌍💧

This summer, vast acres of Canadian landscapes have burned, leaving us all under smoky skies. Discover how the powerful Super Scooper has become an essential tool in the fight against wildfires.

👉 Read the full story by Brian Owens, here: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-super-scooper-aircraft-that-brings-hope-to-fire-stricken-communities/

📸: Forest Service – Northern Region / Wikimedia Commons

15/08/2025

15/08/2025

🔥🍁 Canada’s landscapes are under fire like never before.
Across the country, from BC to the Prairies to the East Coast, fire are burning vast areas of land, creating thick smoke that hangs heavy in the air and moves across the country.

In 2023, we mapped the area burned by forest fires in Canada since 1921. While past active fire seasons have seen more individual fires — 1989 still holds the record with 10,998 fires — 2023 was notable for the total area burned. In 2023, a total of 15.2 million hectares was burned.

🌲 In the context of 2025, this map remains potent for sharing a century of forest fires in Canada. Read the full story: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/mapping-100-years-of-forest-fires-in-canada/

📸 Photo credit: Sébastien Nadeau, a member of the CanGeo Photo Club
🖊️ Story by David Geselbracht

💬 What’s your experience with the wildfire season so far? Have you felt the smoke or seen the impact firsthand? Share your story or thoughts below.

How exceptional is Canada’s 2023 fire season? Unprecedented, according to a map of the past century of fire activity

14/08/2025

🌾 Did you know Grasslands National Park is home to one of Canada’s most important ecological corridors?

Stretching across native prairie and pastureland, this corridor supports the free movement of wildlife, protects endangered species, and safeguards one of the most threatened ecosystems in the country.

By keeping these landscapes connected, animals like pronghorn, deer, birds, and even tiny pollinating insects can migrate, breed, and survive. Think of it as the prairie’s superhighway, helping Canada’s grasslands stay alive and thriving. 🚦🌻

Have you explored Grasslands National Park and spotted any of its wild residents? Share your stories and photos in the comments!

This story is part of Right of Passage, a Canadian Geographic x Parks Canada initiative highlighting Canada’s most important wildlife corridors and the species that depend on them. Produced with support from Parks Canada.

📖 Read the full story here: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/guardians-of-the-grasslands/

By Karen Pinchin withy photography by Michelle Valberg

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🌾 Saviez-vous que le parc national des Prairies abrite l’un des corridors écologiques les plus importants du Canada?

S'étendant à travers des prairies et des pâturages indigènes, ce corridor favorise la libre circulation de la faune, protège les espèces menacées et préserve l'un des écosystèmes les plus menacés du pays.

En gardant ces paysages connectés, des animaux comme l'antilope d'Amérique, les cerfs, les oiseaux et même de minuscules insectes pollinisateurs peuvent migrer, se reproduire et survivre. Imaginez-le comme l'autoroute des prairies, contribuant à la vitalité et à la prospérité des prairies canadiennes. 🚦🌻

Avez-vous exploré le parc national des Prairies et repéré certains de ses habitants sauvages? Partagez vos anecdotes et photos dans les commentaires!

Ce récit s'inscrit dans le cadre de Droit de passage, une initiative de Canadian Geographic et Parcs Canada qui met en lumière les corridors fauniques les plus importants du Canada et les espèces qui en dépendent. Produit avec le soutien de Parcs Canada.

📖 Lisez l'histoire complète ici :
https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/guardians-of-the-grasslands/

Par Karen Pinchin avec des photographies de Michelle Valberg

How conservationists and ranchers in Saskatchewan are working to slow the loss of an endangered ecosystem

13/08/2025

A frontier of beauty, mystery, and global importance, the Arctic is more than mere ice and snow.

Between open waters, fragile sea ice, and hidden routes that connect nations, the great Canadian North is at the centre of a race for resources, shipping lanes, and environmental survival.

This map, featured in the July/August issue of Canadian Geographic, peels back the layers to show why the Arctic matters.

The changes here are fast, and their impact stretches far beyond the horizon. The question is: what happens next?

Find out here: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/everybody-wants-the-arctic-this-map-shows-why/

📸 Photo: Joe Desjardins / Can Geo Photo Club
🖊️ Text: Rob Huebert | Map: Chris Brackley

💬 Your turn: When you think about the future of the Arctic, what do you imagine? Share your thoughts below ⬇️

As international relations heat up, Canada is scrambling to secure its Arctic sovereignty

13/08/2025

🌍Sneak peek 👀

Something truly extraordinary is coming to Canadian Geographic and the RCGS headquarters… a one-of-a-kind globe from Bellerby & Co. Globemakers of London, England.

Globemaking, a nearly lost art, is the perfect embodiment of geography at the intersection between science and art. The process is meticulous and deeply hands-on, beginning with custom cartography tailored to the globe’s scale and purpose.

Paper gores — curved map segments — are hand-cut and carefully applied to a perfectly balanced sphere, a task that requires steady hands and precision to avoid tearing or misalignment. The surface is brought to life with delicate layers of watercolour, and sealed with a soft satin finish that protects without dulling the artistry. Final touches take place in the workshop, where wood and metal are shaped and assembled to support the globe’s form.

What results is not just an object of beauty, but a tangible reminder of how geography connects us to place, history, each other, and the world we’re still mapping every day. We can't wait to share more about this stunning piece and officially unveil it. Stay tuned!

13/08/2025

🌎 Giant Floor Maps are back! Educators across Canada can now book one of our free, bilingual Giant Floor Maps for their classroom. Focusing on many themes—from ocean literacy to Indigenous history to climate change—students can learn by literally walking across the map. Book now: www.cangeoeducation.ca

12/08/2025

From slithering water snakes to sun-warmed turtle nests, Chevaun Toulouse grew up in the swamps and streams of Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, learning the language of the land. 🐢🌿

Now a biologist, educator, and proud “herp nerd,” Chevaun is blending science with tradition. Teaching young people the original Ojibwe names for the animals around them, Chevaun is sharing sacred stories of the serpent, and showing that protecting wetlands means protecting culture, biodiversity, and future generations.

Because in her words, “heal the environment, and you heal yourself.” 💧🪶

Read her full story today: https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/biologist-chevaun-toulouse-on-swamp-stories/

Written by Heather Patterson with photography by Scott Parent

Slithering, splashing, and swamp stories from Sagamok. Researcher, herper, and mother Chevaun Toulouse discusses growing up in Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, her journey into herpetology and the path she’s forging for future generations

11/08/2025

The second half of the Indigenous led youth expedition supported by Canadian Geographic, Canada's Ocean Supercluster, and Workforce Warriors focused on the shoreline and Mi'kmaw culture in the community of Miawpukek First Nation.

A full day of habitat surveys, eDNA water testing, ROV deployment from the shoreline, and even a swim was followed by an amazing day of the community sharing cultural arts, drumming, dancing, and of course the . The people of Miawpukek provided a beautiful feast of moose stew, smoked salmon and bannock. They even got to try some roasted moose nose!

Special thanks to the people behind the program: Land and Water Guardians Jordan and Sid, Randy Green (MAMKA) and Greg Jeddore (Miawpukek Horizon Maritime).

10/08/2025

Ah, the moose, Canada’s gentle giant!
Standing up to 2.1 metres tall, the moose is the largest member of the deer family.

Plus, did you know baby moose are natural-born swimmers? They can dive up to 5.5 metres deep to munch on underwater plants! 🏊‍♂️🌿

And those massive antlers? They start soft and spongy before hardening into full-on natural armor.

Seen a moose this summer? Share your best shot with , or better yet, join our Can Geo Photo Club!

Learn more fun moose facts here:https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/animal-facts-moose/

📸 Photos by Jean-Simon Bégin and Lyndon Norman, members of the CanGeo Photo Club