1013 August 16, 2023 Beringia

I began the day with a great walk along the Yukon River.

On my way back to the Jeep, I watched eagles and ravens sparring in the sky above the ridge.

We moved the RV from the truck stop to a real campground where we will wait to hear from the mechanic.

This afternoon, we visited the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre.  During the last Ice Age, much of Canada was covered by glacial ice.  The area from East Siberia into Alaska and Yukon was protected by mountains.  This area received very little moisture…no snow…no glaciers.  Instead, the sea water levels decreased and the Continental Shelf was exposed.  This region was then covered with grasses.  Grazing animals migrated across the Bering Strait; most notably musk oxen and wooly mammoths, bison and sheep.  Predators including short nosed giant bears and lions also came.  Eventually at the end of the Ice Age, people began to walk into this area.

This museum explains the history and culture of this portion of the world.  Lots of fossils have been preserved in the permafrost and as they are uncovered, discoveries are made about the life and survival of the inhabitants of Beringia.  We spent a couple of hours wandering through the exhibits and then watching a film about the mammoths…always learning and always more to learn!