The Alberta Tar Sands are an ever present element in Canadian life, but they are never truly depicted in their entirety. From an unknown, prehistoric ocean, to one that is invisible and underground, the Alberta Tar Sands are an unseen, unknown, and intangible geological form spreading through Northern Alberta. The tar sands are an ocean-like object formed through the transformed remains of prehistoric ocean-bound organisms. This representation of them in their entirety serves to preserve their unknown.