Ninety-percent of the water used to process bitumen is dumped in giant, toxic lakes called tailings ponds.
Open mine pits in the tar sands are often 50 metres deep.
Evidence of tar sands exploration, cutting into once unspoiled wilderness.
The Athabasca Lodge off Highway 63 offers accommodation for tar sands workers.
The shape of the sulphur deposits – a by-product of tar sands processing – suggests a pyramid.
Air emissions from the tar sands include 300 tonnes of sulphur a day.
Open mine pits like this one often become tailings ponds when mining is finished.
A Ford F150 truck offers a sense of scale to this giant open mine pit.
