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What Did Officials Really Prove at Duhamel?

The 1967 defence inspection verified unusual ground marks near Duhamel but did not connect them to any witnessed aircraft or spacecraft.

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On this page

  • What defence personnel measured and photographed
  • Why the missing eyewitness breaks the evidence chain
  • Which conclusions the official memorandum did not support
Preview for What Did Officials Really Prove at Duhamel?

Introduction

The 1967 inspection at Duhamel is one of Alberta’s best-known government UFO investigations because it produced something unusual: an official military-style field examination of physical marks on the ground rather than simply a written account of lights in the sky. What that inspection established, however, is often misunderstood. Defence personnel confirmed that unusual circular impressions existed in a pasture, measured and photographed them, and recorded their characteristics in detail. They did not establish that a spacecraft had landed, nor did they connect the marks to any witnessed aircraft or other object. The inspection is important precisely because it separates verified physical observations from much more speculative interpretations.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

Duhamel File illustration 1

What defence personnel actually measured and photographed

The inspection was carried out on 11 August 1967 after Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES) received instructions to investigate reports that unusual circular marks near Duhamel had been linked by local rumours to a UFO landing. A Defence Research Board scientist travelled to the site with military assistance, accompanied by a Canadian Army officer, an Army photographer and, for part of the visit, a local newspaper representative.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

The memorandum makes clear that investigators treated the inspection as a survey of physical evidence rather than as confirmation of an extraordinary event. Among the observations formally recorded were:

  • Four large circular or slightly elliptical ground impressions.
  • Rings roughly 32 to 36 feet (about 10 to 11 metres) across.
  • Impressions approximately five to seven inches (13 to 18 centimetres) wide.
  • Little evidence of burning, scorching or blast damage.
  • No obvious track leading into or away from the circles.
  • Photographs, measurements and radiation readings taken as part of the inspection.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

The report also noted that some vegetation appeared disturbed or removed within parts of the rings. Rather than relying on newspaper descriptions, the investigator documented dimensions and surface characteristics directly, making this one of the better-recorded Canadian physical-site examinations of its era.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

Importantly, the report distinguished between description and explanation. The investigator described what could be measured with confidence but was considerably more cautious when discussing how the marks might have formed.

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Why the missing eyewitness breaks the evidence chain

The strongest limitation identified by the inspection was not the condition of the ground but the absence of anyone who had actually seen the marks being created.

By the time defence personnel arrived, the circles already existed. No witness reported seeing an aircraft, helicopter, unknown object or other mechanism produce them. As a result, investigators could inspect only the aftermath, not the event itself.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

This missing link is crucial when assessing what the file proves. Physical traces can establish that something happened to the ground, but they cannot by themselves identify what caused those traces. Without an observed event connecting an object to the marks, the evidence chain remains incomplete.

That distinction often disappears in later retellings of the Duhamel story. The official memorandum never claimed that defence personnel had witnessed a landing or reconstructed one from conclusive evidence. Instead, it recorded an unexplained pattern whose origin could not be confidently determined from the available information.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

Duhamel File illustration 2

Which conclusions the official memorandum did not support

The Duhamel report has frequently been quoted as though Canadian defence authorities concluded that a spacecraft landed in Alberta. That is not what the memorandum says.

One frequently repeated passage compares the marks with what might be expected from a heavily loaded wheel. This comparison has sometimes been presented as proof that investigators believed an enormous craft had rested on the ground. In context, however, the investigator was discussing what type of pressure pattern most closely resembled the impressions—not identifying the actual source of that pressure. The report explicitly separated physical description from any verified explanation.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

Equally significant are the conclusions the memorandum did not reach:

  • It did not identify a spacecraft.
  • It did not identify any aircraft responsible.
  • It did not claim extraterrestrial origin.
  • It did not establish that a landing had occurred.
  • It did not rule out every conventional explanation.

Instead, the report acknowledged that the observed marks were unusual while leaving their origin unresolved on the available evidence.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

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Why this case still matters within Alberta’s UFO history

Many Alberta UFO reports consist solely of witness testimony about lights or objects seen in the sky. Duhamel stands apart because government investigators physically examined a location, recorded measurements and produced a formal memorandum.

That makes the case valuable for historians of Canadian UFO investigations. It demonstrates that federal authorities were sometimes willing to deploy personnel to inspect reported evidence on the ground when a case appeared sufficiently unusual. It also illustrates the limits of such investigations. Even with direct inspection, photography and measurement, officials could document physical facts without being able to identify their cause.[Experiencer Support]experiencersupport.orgationAugust 11, 1967…Published: August 11, 1967

The surviving federal archive reflects exactly this distinction. Library and Archives Canada preserves Duhamel records because they formed part of the government’s historical UFO reporting system, not because the government concluded that an extraordinary craft had visited Alberta. The file documents an investigation, not a verified explanation.[Canada]canada.cas UFOs: The search for the unknownCanada's UFOs: The search for the unknown - Canada.ca…

Duhamel File illustration 3

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Endnotes

1. Source: experiencersupport.org
Link:https://www.experiencersupport.org/declassified/onsite-inspection-of-ufo-landing-marks-at-duhamel-camrose-county-in-alberta

Source snippet

ationAugust 11, 1967...

Published: August 11, 1967

2. Source: canada.ca
Title: ‘s UFOs: The search for the unknown
Link:https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/research-help/science-technology/ufos.html

Source snippet

Canada's UFOs: The search for the unknown - Canada.ca...

3. Source: experiencersupport.org
Title: It is designed to link the documents while
Link:https://www.experiencersupport.org/points-of-interest

Source snippet

Points of Interest | The Experiencer Support AssociationJune 8, 2022 — POINTS OF INTEREST This page is a collection of locations, persons...

Published: June 8, 2022

4. Source: experiencersupport.org
Link:https://www.experiencersupport.org/declassified/circular-impressions-were-reported-near-camrose-alberta-canada-2

5. Source: experiencersupport.org
Title: residual evidence
Link:https://www.experiencersupport.org/evidence_category/residual-evidence

6. Source: youtube.com
Title: Canada’s First Reported Crop Circles
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAAE9Q7ysqM

Source snippet

The Alberta UFO Wave of 1967...

Additional References

7. Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Title: File:Official Opening of UFO Landing Pad, St. Paul, Alberta, 1967 02.jpg
Link:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOfficial_Opening_of_UFO_Landing_Pad%2C_St._Paul%2C_Alberta%2C_1967_02.jpg

Source snippet

Paul, Alberta, 1967 02.jpg - Wikimedia CommonsJanuary 29, 2024 — FILE:OFFICIAL OPENING OF UFO LANDING PAD, ST. PAUL, ALBERTA, 1967 02.JPG...

Published: January 29, 2024

8. Source: veterans.gc.ca
Title: Battle of Beaumont-Hamel | Veterans Affairs Canada
Link:https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/military-history/first-world-war/battle-beaumont-hamel

Source snippet

Photo: Imperial War Museum Q 380 13 images Expand Scene in Maple Copse (Battle of the Somme). July, 1916. Photo: Canada. Dept. of Nationa...

9. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z51jdFikFE

Source snippet

Duhamel UFO crop circles Alberta 1967 Canada's First Reported Crop Circles - Duhamel, Alberta 1967 Strange North...

10. Source: publications.gc.ca
Title: Suffield memorandum.: DR52-6E-PDF
Link:https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.870467/publication.html

Source snippet

Government of Canada Publications - Canada.caJanuary 2, 2026 — SUFFIELD MEMORANDUM.: DR52-6E-PDF Permanent link to this Catalogue record...

Published: January 2, 2026

11. Source: youtube.com
Title: Crop Circles in Canada | UFOs or Simply a Hoax?
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDybRaQ61pk

Source snippet

The Falcon Lake, Manitoba UFO Incident of 1967 - Canada's Most Famous ET Encounter...

12. Source: youtube.com
Title: Unidentified Flying Objects Over Alberta, Part One: Wheels of Fire
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmB4awU8q0

Source snippet

Crop Circles in Canada | UFOs or Simply a Hoax?...

13. Source: silverhawkauthor.com
Link:https://silverhawkauthor.com/unidentified-flying-objects-ufo-and-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-uap/ufos-where-do-they-come-from-why-are-they-here-how-do-they-operate-part-2-of-2/

Source snippet

Why are they here? How do they operate? Part 2 of 2 - SilverHawkAuthor Website Military History MaterialsJanuary 15, 2026 — UFOS – WHERE...

Published: January 15, 2026

14. Source: awm.gov.au
Link:https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1150108

15. Source: warmuseum.ca
Link:https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/archive/3152466

16. Source: recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca
Link:https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?IdNumber=3205291&app=fonandcol