Athbasca Sand Dunes by Tim Beckett  via Wikimedia Commons

Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan – When you think of Saskatchewan you usually think of flat prairie land stretching for as the eye can see, but that’s not the whole story. Head north and you can see the most northerly active dunes in the world. The constantly moving Athabasca Sand Dunes reach heights of 30 meters (98 feet), and stretch 100 km (62 miles) along the south shore of Lake Athabasca.

Home to Arctic terns and delicate orchids, plus 10 plant species found nowhere else in the world, what makes these dunes especially cool are there proximity to water. They nudge the largest lake in the province, and within the dunes you can find lakes large enough for a float plane to land. The area is a Provincial Wilderness Park, with no community, services or roads – access is by float plane only. A world record lake trout weighting 46.3 kg (101.8 lb) was caught here in 1961.

Lake Athabasca is in the northwest section of the province. It reaches into northeast Alberta, and is close to the border of the Northwest Territories