Northwest Passage

You know me and my passion for cruise ships.....well......in case you're interested, the MS Hanseatic is now cruising the Northwest Passage. Here is the route she'll take and here is her view cam so you can keep an eye on her as she moves along. There is also a link to the ship's position.
As I was checking some of the points of interest along the way, Smoking Hills caught my eye. According to Wikipedia..
The Smoking Hills are located on the east coast of Cape Bathurst^[1] in Canada's Northwest Territories, next to the Arctic Ocean and a small group of lakes. The cliffs were named by explorer John Franklin,^[2] who discovered them on his 1826 expeditions. They contain strata of hydrocarbons (oil shales), which have been burning continuously for centuries.
The fires result from autoignition of sulfur-rich lignite deposits. The clouds of smoke have given the region its name. Over time the sulfur dioxide from the smoke has acidified the shallow ponds (< 1 hectare / 2.5 acres area and < 1 1 metre / 3.3 feet depth) in the tundra dotting the area, down to a pH lower than 2.^[3] Elevated concentrations of metals (aluminium, iron, zinc, nickel, manganese and cadmium) occur in these acidic ponds. Soils and sediments have also been chemically altered. The acidic biota in the ponds are characteristic of acidic environments worldwide, in contrast to the typically Arctic biota in adjacent alkaline ponds.^[4] Although the soil of the region contains much limestone, the buffer effect has completely disappeared.^[5]
The nearest community, Paulatuk, which is about 105 km (65 mi) east, is named in recognition of the coal found in the area, traditionally spelt "Paulatuuq" or "place of coal".<sup>[6]

There...now ya learned something new today :o)</sup>