The thoughts of Canada usually conjures up certain images such as the quaint harbors that make up its Atlantic coast, or the brilliant fall colors that cover its eastern end, or the jagged mountains that are found on its western end, or the misty shores of its Pacific Coast, or the taiga forest that covers its northern stretches, or even the arctic tundra that covers its Arctic shores. However, a good portion of Canada is also covered by wide open grassland prairies in what is their own bread basket region. Covering a large region through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, is some of the flattest terrain encountered on Earth, rivaling that of the United States own Great Plains. While in separate countries, the two bread basket regions are actually connected through Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Just as in the United States, the plains of Canada are covered with a patchwork of farmland over its prairies. The climate here is similar to that of the Great Plains: hot, sunny summers with patches of strong thunderstorms and extremely cold, harsh winters with times of bitter winds. This is the typical inland Continental Climate Zone, and the long days of summer sunshine with usually only a scattering of cumulus clouds to break up the blue sky, it is an ideal crop growing region, especially for grains. As such, grain silos and grain elevators towering over the fields are a common sight the prairies of Canada, just as they are in the Great Plains of the United States. The Wild Images Team has traveled through much of Canada on our way up to Alaska. It was while we were passing through the incredibly flat lands of Saskatchewan that we watched the buildup of a very tall cumulonimbus cloud. In this image, the typical puffy white edges of the large cumulonimbus cloud can be seen on the left, while the majority of the right is dominated by the dark hues of high water density and rainfall typical of massive cumulonimbus clouds. Meanwhile the foreground is not only still dry, but actually shining in the sun as can be seen on the dirt roads and the glare from the large collection of grain silos. These strong, concentrated storms that buildup over the plains may also produce tornadoes even in the more northern prairies of Canada. A similar situation occurs there as high, dry, and heavier cold air flows off of its own Rocky Mountains, and ends up above the warmer, humid, and lighter ground air of the prairies. The lighter air is then forced upward which creates the tall, billowing, storm producing clouds. And if under the right circumstances, the vertical flow of air may be turned horizontal, resulting in a funnel cloud. The Wild Images Team has captured many photos during our journey up to Alaska through western and northern Canada including colorful canoes standing at the edge of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, a moment of isolation as a canoe crosses Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, the scene when a grizzly mother is grazing with two cubs, a practically newborn grizzly cub is shorter than the grass, near the Rancheria River where a massive blonde grizzly steps out of the brush, where the remote Liard River wanders through woods and mountains, an action shot when two bison calves are learning to spar, and another action shot as a large bull moose runs through the woods, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from our journey through Canada document the dark background storm clouds while the grain silos shine in the sunlight of Saskatchewan, the sheer terrain of Cascade Mountain towering over the Bow River valley, the velvet covered antlers of an elk as it passes by in Jasper National Park, the welcome sign declaring you are now entering the world famous Alaska Highway, the very iconic mile 0 signpost found at the start of the Alaska Highway, the desolate road of the Alaska Highway drops down into clouds of the Yukon Territory, the very remote road of the Alaska Highway rounds a mountain within clouds of the Yukon Territory, as the Alaska Highway heads straight towards a giant peak along Kluane Lake, the tall snow-capped peaks along the Alaska Highway west of Whitehorse, the shore lining patterned designs of mudflats from the missing A’ay Chu, as The Wild Images Team Photographer Jeremy Robinson hides in the Signpost Forest, and as The Wild Images Team Coordinator Christina hides in the Signpost Forest. The Wild Images Team has also captured many other images while in Alaska including the terminal moraines of a glacier winding down from the Chugach Mountains, the many splendid colors of the Sheep Mountain chromatic peaks in the Talkeetna Range, as a seal watches over the thick floating ice in Kenai Fjords National Park, as very fast moving seals cut tracks through the ice, as an entertaining seal strikes a pose on Northwestern Lagoon ice, the many miles of Northwestern Glacier reflecting over the turquoise waters, the awe inspiring rumble when a glacier calves of the cliffs in Kenai Fjords National Park, the moment when clouds crown a peak in Kenai Fjords National Park, the long summer days when fireweed enjoys the land of the midnight sun, and as a very playful Dall’s porpoise breaches the ocean surface in Aialik Bay, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from Alaska document the moment we realized that no bananas on a boat is a very serious rule, as our kayak carrying water taxi Michael A launches from Miller’s Landing, the chaotic scene during a feeding frenzy floating island of seagulls, the majestic bald eagle scanning the coastline from a tree, the expansive view of a colorfully banded rock island reflection, the chaotic jumble of very noticeable blue ice of Northwest Glacier, the reflective view over briefly calm waters of the far northern Pacific Ocean under the Harding Icefield, when The Wild Images Team was photographed at the mouth of a glacier draining tunnel, the intimidating view from the snout of a very large and very steep glacier, and when our Coordinator Christina Orban keeps tradition by kissing the snout of this glacier.
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