“Islands brushed by waves” is the wonderfully poetic name the Micmac Indians gave this small archipelago in the center of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But it fails to capture the striking palette of the seascapes: white sandy beaches, pale dunes, ochre-red sea cliffs and deep blue sea. Most Madelinots live on the six largest islands linked by Route 199, which stretches 53 miles over rolling green hills dotted with cheerfully painted houses. At the southernmost end, historic La Grave is a hub of cafes, restaurants, shops, galleries, small museums and an aquarium.

Tucked deep inside an inlet on Newfoundland’s mountainous west coast, the working mill town of Corner Brook is the gateway to Gros Morne National Park. The park’s rare features – mantle rock and ancient oceanic crust – are a window onto continental movement 1.2 billion years ago, key factors in its World Heritage designation. Glaciers carved out the spectacular fjords, deep valleys, lakes and beaches. Coastal and forested trails invite exploration, while intrepid hikers can climb the 2,644-foot-tall Gros Morne.

Covering nearly 80 percent of Greenland’s surface, the Greenland ice sheet feeds glaciers across the country. A voyage through Prince Christian Sound offers spectacular views of this ice sheet from the southern tip of the island. The 66-mile-long journey is picturesquely framed by granite mountains soaring over 7,200 feet, slow-motion ice rivers carving through solid rock as they make their way to the water to calve giant icebergs, and meltwater majestically cascading towards the sea.

The demand for a link between Buzzards Bay in the south and Cape Cod Bay in the north goes back to George Washington, whose Continental Army was trapped by a British blockade during the Revolutionary War and had no waterway to retreat to. Completed in 1914, the landmark Cape Cod Canal is the world's widest sea-level canal. Its seven miles of glistening waterway is lined with lush scenery and is occasionally used by whales and dolphins, including endangered North Atlantic right whales.