Smoking Hills

The Smoking Hills are located on the east coast of Cape Bathurst[1] in Canada's Northwest Territories, next to the Arctic Ocean and a small group of lakes.

The cliffs were named by explorer John Franklin,[2] who was the first European to see them on his 1826 expeditions.

[3] Elevated concentrations of metals (aluminium, iron, zinc, nickel, manganese and cadmium) occur in these acidic ponds.

[4] Although the soil of the region contains much limestone, the buffer effect has completely disappeared.

[5] Weathering of the coastline of the area leads to the continuous exposure of new mineral deposits from the muds that make up the underlying geology.

Smoking Hills southeast of Cape Bathurst, NT
Clouds of smoke from burning sulfur-rich lignite deposits
Eroding mud face continuously exposes new minerals from the Smoking Hills area
Smoking Hills in August 1987