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Sasquatch, lake monsters and UFOs in Canada
Canada gave the world the word Sasquatch, has a lake monster in almost every province, and these days logs about a thousand UFO reports a year. Here is everything on the site from coast to coast to coast.
- 26 creatures
- 17,170 UFO reports mapped
- 43 famous cases
- 14 places to visit
Creatures reported in Canada
From the Sasquatch of the BC coast to Bessie, Cadborosaurus, Champ, Cressie and the rest of the lake monsters.
Bigfootaka Sasquatch, SkookumA huge, hair-covered, upright ape said to roam North American forests.
Old Yellow Topaka Yellow Top, Cobalt sasquatchA Bigfoot with a pale blond mane, reported around Ontario's silver mines.
Dogmanaka Michigan Dogman, Upright canineA tall, upright, dog-headed creature with glowing eyes, the Midwest's favourite monster.
Bessieaka South Bay Bessie, Lake Erie MonsterLake Erie's serpent, reported by sailors since the 1790s.
Cadborosaurusaka Caddy, Hiyitl'iikA horse-headed sea serpent reported off the coast of British Columbia.
Champaka Champy, Lake Champlain MonsterAmerica's Loch Ness: the long-necked creature of Lake Champlain.
Cressieaka Crescent Lake monster, Robert's Arm lake monsterAn eel-like lake monster said to swim in Crescent Lake, beside the Newfoundland town of Robert's Arm.
Fur-bearing troutaka Furry trout, LoðsilungurA trout that grew a thick coat of fur to survive icy water: a tall tale, and a favourite of taxidermists.
Igopogoaka Kempenfelt Kelly, Beaverton BessieA seal-faced lake animal said to live in Ontario's Lake Simcoe.
Krakenaka Krake, HafgufaNorway's legendary ship-sinking monster, now linked to the giant squid, a real animal first filmed alive in 2012.
Manipogoaka Winnipogo, Lake Manitoba monsterManitoba's humped lake serpent, with its own provincial park and festival.
Memphréaka Memphre, Memphremagog monsterThe cross-border lake monster of Quebec and Vermont, honoured on a Canadian coin.
Mugwumpaka Old Tessie, Monster of Lake TemiscamingueA big, sturgeon-like monster said to live in Lake Timiskaming, the deep lake on the Ontario and Quebec border.
Mussieaka Hapyxelor, HapaxelorA friendly lake monster of Muskrat Lake, Ontario, sometimes said to have three eyes.
Ogopogoaka N'ha-a-itk, NaitakaCanada's famous lake serpent of Okanagan Lake, BC.
Old Nedaka Lake Utopia monster, Lake Utopia serpentA whale-like creature said to live in Lake Utopia, New Brunswick, near the Bay of Fundy.
Ponikaka Pohénégamook monster, Monstre du lac PohénégamookQuebec's lake monster, said to look like an upturned canoe covered in scales.
Turtle Lake Monsteraka Turtle Lake creature, Saskatchewan lake monsterA large, dog- or pig-headed lake creature reported about once a year in a Saskatchewan lake.
Hoop snakeaka Hoopsnake, Rolling snakeA snake that grabs its tail in its mouth and rolls after you like a wheel.
Dungarvon Whooperaka The Whooper, Ghost of the DungarvonA New Brunswick lumber-camp ghost whose terrible whooping drove woodsmen from their camp.
Kushtakaaka Kóoshdaa káa, Land otter manA shape-shifting 'land otter man' of Tlingit belief; the name is now used widely in Alaskan monster stories.
Thetis Lake Monsteraka Thetis Lake creature, BC Gill-manA silver, scaly gill-man two teenagers said chased them from a BC beach in 1972.
Wendigoaka Windigo, WitikoA being of winter and hunger from Algonquian traditions, far removed from its horror-movie image.
Lutinaka Lutine, Le Cheval BayardA mischievous French house spirit that crossed to Quebec, where a pure white cat might be a lutin in disguise.
Memekwesiwaka Mannegishi, MemekwesiwakSmall river-dwelling little people of Cree tradition, playful tricksters who may tip over canoes.
UFO crashesaka Crashed saucer, RoswellStories of objects falling from the sky and being quietly taken away.Sort and filter them in the creature index
By province
British ColumbiaManitobaNewfoundland and LabradorOntarioQuebec
UFO sightings by province
17,170 reports since 1989, mapped town by town. See what was seen over your town and which reports nobody could explain.
British Columbia 4,145Quebec 4,068Ontario 3,987Alberta 1,448Manitoba 1,247Nova Scotia 687Saskatchewan 675New Brunswick 280Newfoundland and Labrador 193Yukon 172Prince Edward Island 147Northwest Territories 94Nunavut 27
Open the Canada sightings map Canada's official UFO files
Famous cases in Canada
- 17931793 sloop captain's sighting
Bessie · Middle Island, Lake Erie - 1823Soules sighting
Igopogo · Lake Simcoe, Ontario - 1855MacDougal's horses pulled under
Ogopogo · Okanagan Lake, British Columbia - 1873Giant squid reportedly attacks a dory
Kraken · Bell Island, Newfoundland - 1879The Swift Runner case
Wendigo · Near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta - 1896Forty-five minutes off Crystal Beach
Bessie · Crystal Beach, near Fort Erie, Ontario - 1906First reported sighting
Old Yellow Top · Cobalt, Ontario - 1907Jack Fiddler, the wendigo killer, is arrested
Wendigo · Sandy Lake, Ontario - 1909McKay sighting
Manipogo · Lake Manitoba - 1912Whelan's ballad published
Dungarvon Whooper · Renous, New Brunswick - 1916First anecdotes of the lake creature
Mussie · Cobden, Ontario - 1923Blueberry patch encounter
Old Yellow Top · Near Cobalt, Ontario - 1928Girl Guides see a 45-foot creature in Otter Bay
Ogopogo · Otter Bay, Okanagan Lake, near Vernon, British Columbia - 1933The camel-headed serpent gets a name
Cadborosaurus · Cadboro Point and Chemainus River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia - 1934Henry Island remains
Cadborosaurus · Henry Island, near Prince Rupert, British Columbia - 1937Naden Harbour carcass
Cadborosaurus · Haida Gwaii, BC - 1941Ruby Creek incident
Bigfoot · Ruby Creek, British Columbia - 1941'Sarah the sea hag' on Kitsilano Beach
Cadborosaurus · Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver - 1952Chief Wellington Charles sighting
Igopogo · Lake Simcoe, Ontario - 1960Name coined after a wave of sightings
Manipogo · Lake Manitoba - 1962Vincent and Konefell photo
Manipogo · Lake Manitoba - 1967Falcon Lake incident
Flying saucer · Falcon Lake, Manitoba - 1967Shag Harbour impact
UFO crashes · Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia - 1968Folden film
Ogopogo · Okanagan Lake, BC - 1972Teenagers chased from the beach
Thetis Lake Monster · Thetis Lake, British Columbia - 1972The TV movie that aired days before
Thetis Lake Monster · Victoria, British Columbia - 1974Langenburg saucers
Flying saucer · Langenburg, Saskatchewan - 1978Clarenville sighting
Flying saucer · Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador - 1978A couple see it swimming
Mugwump · Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, Ontario - 1979The mayor's newspaper story
Mugwump · Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, Ontario - 1980Fifty tourists on a Kelowna beach
Ogopogo · Kelowna, British Columbia - 1982Ice fishers meet its eye
Mugwump · Lake Timiskaming, New Liskeard, Ontario - 1983Sonar contact
Igopogo · Lake Simcoe, Ontario - 1986Dracontology society founded
Memphré · Magog, Quebec - 1989The Chaplin tape
Ogopogo · Bear Creek, Okanagan Lake - 1990Bonaventure Hotel lights
Orbs and lights · Montreal, Quebec - 1991Seal-like animal video
Igopogo · Lake Simcoe, Ontario - 1991The Parsons sighting
Cressie · Crescent Lake, Robert's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador - 1991A rolling black shape
Cressie · Crescent Lake, Robert's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador - 1992The water-skier video
Ogopogo · Okanagan Lake, British Columbia - 2000Sonar near Rattlesnake Island
Ogopogo · Rattlesnake Island, Okanagan Lake - 2003Summer of sightings
Cressie · Crescent Lake, Robert's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador - 2008Peachland humps photographed
Ogopogo · Peachland, British Columbia
Close encounters, mysteries and military cases
- The Falcon Lake incidentFalcon Lake, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, Canada, 1967A Winnipeg prospector said a landed craft burned his chest in a grid pattern; CBC has called it Canada's best-documented UFO case.
- The Langenburg saucersNear Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1974A Saskatchewan farmer said five spinning saucers hovered by a slough; the RCMP found five matching circles in the field.
- Nahanni's Headless ValleyNahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories, CanadaA wild river valley where prospectors were found headless, leaving names like Deadmen Valley and the Funeral Range.
- The Oak Island Money PitOak Island, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, CanadaTreasure hunters have dug on this Nova Scotia island since the 1790s, and nobody has found the treasure.
- Kinross incidentLake Superior, near Kinross AFB, Michigan, 1953An F-89C Scorpion jet was sent to intercept an unidentified radar target over Lake Superior. Ground radar watched the jet's blip merge with the target, then both disappea...
Places to visit
Museums, statues, festivals and the spots where it happened.
- Harrison Visitor Centre and Sasquatch MuseumHarrison Hot Springs, British ColumbiaFree museum in the village where the word Sasquatch was born, from the Sts'ailes Sa:sq'ets. Casts, carvings, a longhouse room and an 8-foot ...
- Shag Harbour UFO CentreShag Harbour, Nova ScotiaA small seasonal museum on the shore where, in October 1967, witnesses reported a lit object dropping into the sea and the RCMP and navy wen...
- Sasquatch DaysHarrison Hot Springs, British ColumbiaCo-hosted by the village and the Sts'ailes Nation, with war canoe races, cultural programs and Sasquatch talks on Harrison Lake.
- Shag Harbour UFO ExpoYarmouth, Nova ScotiaThree days of talks near the anniversary of the 1967 Shag Harbour incident, with a bus tour to the crash area and the old CFB Shelburne site...
- Manipogo FestivalSt. Laurent, ManitobaSt. Laurent on Lake Manitoba celebrates Manipogo, the humped lake monster named in 1960, with a winter festival.
- Squatch Watch Vancouver IslandCourtenay, British ColumbiaA three-day Sasquatch conference in the Comox Valley with presenters, a vendor market and a gala dinner, partnered with the Queneesh Indigen...
- Ogopogo StatueKelowna, British ColumbiaKelowna's most photographed public art: a fibreglass Ogopogo on the downtown waterfront, sculpted in 1960.
- UFO Landing PadSt. Paul, AlbertaThe world's first UFO landing pad, built in 1967 for Canada's centennial, sits on a time capsule due to open in 2067. A small UFO exhibit is...
- Ponik SculpturePohénégamook, QuebecQuebec's lake monster Ponik, reported since 1874, is honoured with a huge sculpture at the lakeside resort.
- Sasquatch Provincial ParkHarrison Hot Springs, British ColumbiaLakes, trails and campgrounds just north of Harrison Hot Springs, renamed for the Sasquatch in 1968.
- The Sea Serpent (Igopogo)Barrie, OntarioBarrie's waterfront sculpture of Igopogo, aka Kempenfelt Kelly, the Lake Simcoe monster reported since the 1800s.
- Memphré SculptureMagog, QuebecA sculpture of Memphré, the Lake Memphremagog monster, in the lakeside Parc de la Baie-de-Magog.
- Falcon Lake Incident SiteFalcon Lake, ManitobaIn May 1967 prospector Stefan Michalak said a landed craft burned his chest here. Parks Manitoba has run anniversary hikes to the site.
- Crescent Lake (Cressie)Roberts Arm, Newfoundland and LabradorThe town of Roberts Arm proudly claims Cressie, the eel-like monster of Crescent Lake. A hiking trail runs along the end of the lake nearest...
Places by province
AlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitobaNewfoundland and LabradorNova ScotiaOntarioQuebec
Seen something in Canada?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can keep the exact spot private.