If you count Fred Flintstone (who was employed by Slater Rock and Gravel Company), people have used quarries since prehistoric times.
Your backyard geology, part 21: Quarries: Gravel, sand and opposition Read More »
Foggite, mordenite and plumboferrite: 3 categories of mineral naming: people, place, or physical characteristic.
Your Backyard Geology: People and places ending in ‘ite’ Read More »
The Yukon is well-known for its gold, but less known are the gemstones. What determines whether a mineral can be called a gemstone is open to interpretation.
All that glitters is not gold Read More »
The Brewery Creek Mine is located 60 kilometres east of Dawson City, but this story starts east of there, in 1979. That’s when Rio Canex Exploration Ltd. staked the “IDA” claims in response to the results of a Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) stream sediment sampling program.
The making of a mine takes science, luck and beer Read More »
One project was to traverse and map the Mackenzie Mountains near the Yukon-NWT border by Joseph Keele who spent an entire year in 1907-08.
Early geological mapping Pt2 Read More »
When you fly over Yukon and British Columbia, look out your window if you can. You will see an endless, rugged landscape, broken by lakes
Early Geological Mapping Expeditions Read More »
If you are looking for your own viewing stone, the best rocks tend to be those that erode into interesting shapes.
Viewing Stones – Part 2 Read More »
Gongshi, suiseki, and suseok are the art of stone appreciation. It originated in China during the Han Dynasty
Viewing Stones – Part 1 Read More »
The earliest geology maps of the Yukon show only the rocks that line the rivers. You traveled by boat, mapping as you went.
Early Geological Mapping pt1 Read More »
People bring back all kinds of artisan objects to remind them of a special place they have visited, but I tend to collect rocks.
Collecting memories: Fill your suitcase with rocks Read More »
Throughout history, asbestos had been known as the miracle mineral due to its unique properties. Asbestos can be woven, it does not rot and it is waterproof.
Asbestos, the miracle mineral with a dark side Read More »
Living where we do in the cordillera region of western North America, we are able to see the power of plate tectonics up close. How do all these rocks get all bent out of shape?
Bent rocks – Part 1 Read More »
Just about every country in the world has caves. Every province and territory in Canada, including the Yukon, has some. Caves have provided shelter to
The area around Telegraph Creek is in the northern cordillera volcanic province. Extensive volcanic activity affected the Tahltan people.
Telegraph Creek area Read More »
Columnar joints, that is. There is a geological feature that has caught human imagination for tens of thousands of years. It has been given names,
Straight talk on joints Read More »
We live in one of the most geothermal active locations in North America. The entire west coast is influenced by plate tectonics. As continental-sized pieces
Spring into summer Read More »
Your Backyard Geology – Part 9 Concretions are not shaped by running water or fabricated by humans, nor are they dinosaur eggs. They are fascinating
Concretions – shapely time capsules Read More »
Part 8 of Your Backyard Geology Within Whitehorse city limits, you can see Grey Mountain from almost anywhere. It is one of the first landmarks
Limestone reefs in southern Yukon Read More »
As the story goes, the early gold rush stampeders found all the creeks staked when they arrived. The Sourdoughs already there jokingly told the newcomers to go to the top of the hills to find gold.
The white channel gravels Read More »
On July 8, 1992, the Whitehorse Star reported a find near Frances Lake of what was stated to be a world-record-sized piece of jade at
Jade — Green, tough, and valuable Read More »
The widespread use of coal was one of the major factors in fueling the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s. In recent
Ross River coal: Transforming plants to carbon Read More »
Past volcanic eruptions in Alaska have resulted in massive displacement of peoples and widespread environmental damage in the Yukon.
The White River Ash, the mega eruption next door – Part 4 Read More »
There was a not-so-urban myth out there that you could see the Tintina Trench from the moon. That is not true, unless the person on the moon had a good telescope.
The Tintina Trench Read More »
Quartz is everywhere; it is the second most common mineral making up the Earth’s crust, just behind feldspar. Quartz is composed of the two elements silicon and oxygen. It has many different forms.
Rock, not the genre of music, that guy on the radio or your friend from Newfoundland referring to “The Rock” as home, but rocks and
The awe of quartzite beneath you Read More »
