Within the vault of Library and Archives Canada there exist files from five government departments that were involved with collecting data and conducting investigations on unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
The Department of Transport, Department of Communications, Department of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the National Research Council all dealt with reports, sightings and investigations of UFOs across Canada. Each department had different interests and goals. The truth about their investigations is found in files held by Library and Archives Canada. A selection of these files have been digitized and made available on the site.
click on links to view the original archived documents.
Location: Duhamel, Alberta
Date: August 1967
Today, crop circles are part of the popular imagination. But back in 1967, when crop circles appeared in a farmer's field in Duhamel, Alberta, the Department of National Defence conducted an investigation to determine who or what was responsible.
Duhamel is a small hamlet near Camrose, Alberta. For several weeks before the crop circles appeared, Duhamel been plagued with strange occurrences. Reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) had made it into the local papers weeks before the crop circles were discovered.
The crop circles were discovered by accident. A local farmer, Mr. Schielke, went out to his fields to collect his cows. The cows normally came back from the pasture on their own, but on Saturday, August 5, 1967, after a night of heavy rains, the animals didn't come home. Bringing home the cows was something Mr. Schielke rarely had to do, so this was the first time he had been to his fields in weeks. It was therefore the first time he noticed the bizarre imprints on his land -- four circular marks approximately 30 feet in diameter. Mr. Schielke made it very clear to the investigator that the marks on the field could not have been made by his equipment, nor did he believe in UFOs.
The investigator sent to the site admitted that the marks left him perplexed. He described the four marks: "The mark varies from five to seven inches wide, and the smallest circular mark is 31 ft., 9 in. in diameter. Three of the rings are essentially circular, with the largest mark being slightly elliptical, varying from 34 ft., 5 in. to 36 ft., 3 in."
According to the investigator, there was no evidence outside of the circular marks. There were no exhaust blasts, scorch marks or disturbances of the loose surface material. Within the circles, there was evidence that thumbnail-sized pieces of vegetation had been removed by the object that made the marks.
Although the investigator talked about the possibility of the marks being left by a wheel, it is clear in the report that the marks were more likely left by a 135-ton aircraft or spacecraft.
The crop circles in Duhamel, Alberta are considered unsolved by the Department of National Defence.
Related documents:
Investigation report [6 pages]
Department of National Defence memo
fs comment: Curiously, during the late summer and early fall of 1967, Canada had experienced a significant 'UFO Wave' [see Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia].
Source: Library and Archives Canada
