Aurora Falls – Acrylic on Canvas

Description

ORIGINAL FROM BOOK 3.

The Inspiration

Aurora Falls Bute Inlet

The Northem BC Coast is the site of many spectacular waterfalls created by hanging valleys; bodies of water formed as a result of glaciers 10,000 ago. As the glaciers melted in indentations high up in the mountains, water was trapped high up in these alpine lakes.

Eventually the water has to escape and fall to the sea below. It is hard to imagine that BC was covered by a mile of ice as the great glaciers ebbed and flowed, grinding out our fjord-like coast and many islands.

It is very similar to Scandinavia which is the product of similar glacial activity.

To startle the eco- tourists (and it does startle them!!) the Captain on the Aurora will slide the front deck right under a tumultuous waterfall!! He wryly states its ‘just to clean the deck” …….. he gets great dramatic effect.

The water crashes down onto the wooden deck, a few pebbles bounce around to add a touch of drama. The vessel is never in danger, as the scuppers allow the water to shoot off the deck and into the salt chuck.

The water in Bute Inlet and most other inlets on the BC coast are a milky green color. This is a result of the mineral content caused by the ceaseless grinding of glaciers, and its subsequent washing into the inland seas.

Local fish, such as Ling cod have adapted to the water by changing their coloration to shades of green. The water is so frigid that the fish are slow to mature and reproduce. But if you have ever landed an “Irish Lord’s Sculpin”—one might say one of the more bizarre fish on the BC Coast, you’ll know what l’m talking about. Green as grass, but many times better!

Aurora Falls is another of the gems on the BC North Coast.