William M. Dowd photos
MONTREAL -- In 1992, the Montreal Biodome opened in the former Velodrome, built for the 1976 Olympic Games. Since then, it has hosted more than 13 million visitors.The distinctive structure is located in an area of the Canadian city that also is home to the Botanical Gardens, the Insectarium and the Planetarium. The distinctive Biodome Tower (see at right) helps visitors spot the area from almost anywhere in the city.
Inside the Biodome is a series of ecosystems of the Americas through which visitors can walk as they view the plant and animal life living in the recreated environments: the Tropical Forest, the Laurentian Forest, the St. Lawrence Marine Ecosystem, and the Polar World of the Arctic and the Antarctic.
At right, visitors wedge themselves between two towering trees that are part of the Tropical Forest environment inside the Biodome. Below, you can be excused for wondering which species is viewing which in the Polar World environment.
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