"The Canadian arctic accounts for approximately 39,000,000 square kilometres, which is 40 percent of the total area of Canada. This immense and diverse land makes travel through the northern wilderness difficult and expensive and therefore this territory remains unknown to the majority of people.
I travelled the arctic on several occasions during the two seasons of the north and explored areas in the low, mid- and high arctic.
'Canada North of Sixty' is a visual journey and tells about the adaptation of man, animals and plants to the northern climate, its climactic changes and the geological transformation, as seen through the eyes of a twentieth-century photographer.
The highlight of the journeys was my experiences with polar bears and muskox, viewing the magnificent icebergs, discovering the fossil forest and meeting people who live and work in the northern part of Canada.
I thank the following people for the advice and support which made the project Canada North of Sixty a reality:
Eli Bornstein, Professor Emeritus of Art and Art History, MS. D. Litt., who for many years relentlessly explored the possibility of investigating the Canadian Arctic. I was invited to be a member of the two-man team. I am also grateful for Eli's permission to use excerpts from his Ellesmere Island Journal, Part 1 - July 1986 and Part 2 - July 1987 in my arctic presentation.
Walter O. Kupsch, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences, Ph.D., LL.D. F.R.S.C., a veteran arctic explorer. He introduced us to other scientists who were involved with the Canadian North and to government representatives from the Polar Continental Shelf, Project of Natural Resources Canada.
George Hobson, M.Sc., Director of the Polar Continental Shelf Project. He interviewed us and found us trustworthy enough to be turned loose in the wilderness of Canada and granted fly-in support after we arrived in Resolute.
James F. Basinger, Professor of Geological Sciences, M.Sc., Ph.D., younger in age, but is a seasoned arctic discoverer. Jim not only advised the two greenhorns, Eli and myself, he was a man of action.
Barry Hough, P C S P base manager, stationed at Resolute, was the air transport co-ordinator and the lifeline for the arctic investigators, which were strewn over the arctic territory. The contact between the scientist and the headquarters at Resolute was maintained with a morning and evening, mandatory, radio contact.
Pilots: A special thanks goes to the arctic flyers of the Twin Otter and helicopter aircraft, who ferry frieght and people safely all over the arctic."
- Hans Dommasch
This exhibit reproduces Hans Dommasch's public lecture and slide presentation on his travels in northern Canada.
Photographs and captions: Hans Dommasch
Site design and graphics: Luke
Sather
Project supervision: Cheryl Avery
To facilitate web viewing, effort was made to faithfully reproduce the quality of the slides, and to maintain narrative continuity with the captions from a verbal presentation.
This site has been made possible by financial support from the federal government through the Canadian Council of Archives, the National Archives of Canada, and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
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