14 DAY TRIAL // A remote corner of the Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada, is home to what should be described as one of the most important wonders of the natural world. The area contains the largest beaver dam ever assembled, a construction so large that it only became visible when scientists looked at it from way above. The discovery was made about three years ago, when a researchers was peering through satellite photos of the Birch Mountains, a region spanning northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories, the Edmonton Journal reports.
It is estimated that several generations of beavers took more than 35 years to construct the massive, 850-meter-long dam, which is altogether longer than eight football fields put together. According to experts, the animals exhibit amazing water engineering skills, having converted the streams and other waters in the entire area according to their needs and desires. Overall, the construction of the dam took 15 years longer than building the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Scientists who got a chance to analyze the structure say that the construction is still ongoing, and that it will most likely remain this way for years to come.
The structure was first identified by environmental scientist Jean Thie, who took to measuring beaver dams as a hobby. “This one is spectacularly long. It is part of the 'beaver belt' that runs from lower lands around the Riding Mountain National Park (in Manitoba) up through (Alberta's) Birch Mountains,” he told the Journal on Wednesday, in an interview. He also explained that the vast majority of beaver dams were less than 100 meters (335 feet) in length, and that this one really stood out from the crowd.
“They [beavers] are remarkable water engineers. There are some really exceptional beaver landscapes, where you have hundreds of dams that are affecting the streams. Usually these are inaccessible areas, like this one,” he added. When he learned about the existence of this dam, Peter Busher, a natural science professor at the Boston University who has been studying the animals for 35 years, said that he found the structure unbelievable. The researcher believes that one of the main reasons why the dam grew to such impressive sizes was because the beavers found no obstacles to prevent them from building continuously.
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