Photostory #423: Water: The Nation's Most Valuable Resource: Canada's Wilderness Beauty

Photographers
George Hunter , Ted Grant , Neil Newton , Chris Lund
Maker
National Film Board of Canada
Release Date
August 16, 1966
Collection
CMCP fonds
Credit Line
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography fonds, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives
Main Text
Across the wide and beautiful Canadian land, sustaining and nurturing life, are 300,000 square miles of fresh water. In the south, the immensity of the Great Lakes carries shipping into the very heart of the continent, influences the regional climate, provides the water for the mighty St. Lawrence River and seaway. Away from the busy areas of modern industry are other bodies of water, largely untouched, pure, of enormous value. They lie north, east and west and across the vast central sprawl. Swift streams, ponderous rivers, lake after majestic lake, spectacular waterfalls, icy glacial run-offs - myriad upon myriad totalling many thousands of square miles of priceless value. Many of the accessible lakes and rivers have become the playgrounds for Canadians and visitors, others, still hidden, are unknown except by the map compiler tracing the hinterland contours from aerial photographs through a stereoscope. Like treasures in safe storage, the wilderness lakes and streams improve their value with time. As the relentless march to industry quickens across the vigorous nation, the natural beauty of the land becomes ever more precious, its preservation more vital. Fresh water is Canada's most vital resource, both for industrial progress and for preserving mankind's appreciation of his natural environment.