A Desert in The Arctic Circle

I was prepared to see glaciers and gold during my visit to the Northern Canadian region of the Yukon but I was not prepared to see a desert. In the first of many fascinating surprises that I discovered in the region, the Carcross (Caribou Crossing) desert has been declared the world's smallest desert by the Guinness Book of World  Records. Measuring just one square mile, it looks more like a scenic sandbox than an actual desert but according to Canadian history, 10,000 years ago, this spot was the bottom of a large glacial lake and its connecting sand dunes The retreating glacial ice expanded the dunes,which serve as handy recreation for sand boarders and skiers in the winter. Technically, the climate is too humid to be considered a real desert and the Yukon is actually six degrees south of the Arctic Circle but those facts are just not as fun.