In 2007 , an ecologist refer Jean Thie was scanning the Alberta wilderness with Google Earth in an effort to studypermafrostthaw in the Canadian natural state . But then something unusual appear on his screen : A beaver decameter so immense , it was more than twice the duration of theHoover Dam .
Locatedin Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta , Canada , the human beings ’s largest beaver fur dike is at least 2790 feet long . It likely contain thousands of Tree and appears to have expect the handiwork of at least two beaver fur menage . It ’s believed the beavers begin the expression project up to three decades ago .
While it ’s an telling feat of beast engineering , the dam is not very scenic . “ The hodgepodge of mud , branches , stones , and branchlet is cloaked in a layer of locoweed , mean it ’s been there for a while,”Atlas Obscurareports . “ The decametre stretches across a remote wetland arena , which provides the creature with both muckle of sweet water and openhanded building materials . ”
In fact , the dam is locate in such an inhospitable area of Canadian swamp that it is n’t known to have been visited by world until2014 , when Rob Mark , a appendage of the Explorers Club in New York City , made the trek . He began his journey in Fort Chipewyan , more than 120 miles away , and it took him five hour to cover the net mile ( the solid ground wasthatboggy ) . “ It was the only hard ground around for miles so I was glad to stand on it , ” hesaidabout reaching the dkm .
Beaversbuild dams for a batch of reason — take food storage . The critter will hidecachesof intellectual nourishment at the bottom of ponds and will build decameter to increase the water ’s depth , assure their stockpile of goodies wo n’t freeze down over . Dams also operate as a security system . “ They make a habitat with great deal of water like a moat around their indian lodge so they can drown and [ dive ] and keep one gradation in the lead of predators such as coyote and bears , ” biologist Sharon BrowntoldThe Telegraph .
This is n’t the only phonograph recording - breaking beaver home in Canada , either . Thie also key out that Pakwaw Lake , Saskatchewan , has what is probable the highest density of beaver dams in that rural area , and perchance the world — more than 20 decametre and lodges per square km ( or about 247 acre ) .
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A version of this story was published in 2018 ; it has been updated for 2025 .
