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.