British Columbia Oil Jobs Can Be Dangerous
May 9 | Vancouver Times
A report in The Vancouver Sun says that oil jobs are quite dangerous in British Columbia. The injury rate there is about 1/2 of the provincial rate, however, the severity of injuries and duration of off time are much worse.
Related stories.
|
|
 |
Canada: 92,000 New Mining Jobs by 2017
May 7 | The Globe and Mail
The need for skilled mining industry professionals in Canada is going up faster than Canadian schools can gradate students. They need 600 engineers per year but schools only graduate between 120 and 150. The nine schools granting those degrees do not have the capacity needed to meet the demand.
Related stories.
|
 |
Frank Landslide: 105 Years Ago
May 3 | Dave's Landslide Blog
The Frank Landslide happened on April 29th, 1903 in Alberta, Canada. A short description of the event with a few photos can be found at Dave Petley’s blog.
Use the Google Map at right to zoom in on the slide. Click the “View Large Map” link to go full screen.
Related stories.
|
 |
The Mechanics of a Leda Clay Landslide
April 27 | Ottawa Citizen
An article on the Ottawa Citizen website explores the mechanics of Leda Clay (quick clay) landslides. The Notre Dame-De-La-Salette landslide is cited as an example. It blocked a river, and flooded a nearby town with water, debris and ice.
Related stories.
|
 |
Saskatchewan Benefits from Bakken Formation Oil
April 25 | Canada.com
Although the recent USGS report on Bakken Formation Oil did not give details for Saskatchewan, the rock unit and an oil production potential extends northwest from the active areas in Montana and North Dakota.
Related stories.
|
 |
Free Topo Maps
April 10 | Geology.com
Google has added contour lines to their terrain maps. They are not quite as detailed as USGS topos but for free-to-use maps they are very nice. Contour intervals vary depending upon local relief.
Related stories.
|
 |
High Water Levels on Mackenzie River Delta
April 7 | The Globe and Mail
Researchers find that climate change is causing summer water levels on the Mackenzie River Delta to be three times higher than normal. They are also finding water level increases in the low elevation lakes on the delta. They believe that what they see on the Mackenzie Delta is representative of the circumpolar Arctic.
Related stories.
|
 |
Slide Risk at Pemberton, British Columbia
March 30 | Canada.com
Pemberton is one of the fastest growing communities in British Columbia. A new study calls for a landslide warning system because the Lillooet River Valley has been hit by three large landslides in the past 6,000 years. Thanks to Ryan Scott for letting us know about this news item.
Related stories.
|
 |
Plesiosaur Fossil from Canadian Mine Represents New Genus
March 28 | National Geographic News
This new species, perfectly preserved in sandstone, has given scientists more detailed information than any other plesiosaur fossil to date. It has now been declared the first member of a new genus.
Related stories.
|
 |
Battle of the Arctic
March 27 | Canada.com
There are a number of territorial disputes that have brewed in the Arctic for a long time but which are moving closer to political or perhaps military confrontations. All of this is over the enormous oil, gas and other resources that are thought to exist beneath the Arctic Ocean floor.
Geology.com Article: Who Owns the Arctic?
Related stories.
|
 |
Challenges Faced by the Diamond Mining Industry
March 24 | Mining Weekly
An article at Mining Weekly explores some of the challenges faced by diamond miners. These include: bureaucracy, logistics, corruption, price stability, synthetic diamonds and more. Angola was cited as being a difficult country to work in, and Canada was cited as being underexplored.
Related stories.
|
 |
Mining Diamonds Underground at Diavik
March 19 | Canadian Mining Journal
The Diavik Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories has produced over 41.5 million carats since mining began in 2003. All of this has been from surface production. Now operators at the mine owned by Rio Tinto and Harry Winston Diamond consider going underground.
Related stories.
|
 |
Some Pros and Cons on Carbon Storage
March 17 | The Canadian Press
Here is an article in The Canadian Press that quotes a number of energy executives who recently attended an oilsands conference. They comment on the pros and cons of carbon storage and reveal a lot of different perspectives.
Related stories.
|
 |
A Longer Walk in the Woods
March 13 | GEOTIMES
You have probably heard about the “Appalachian Trail” which many people hike in part or in full. Now there is also the “International Appalachian Trail/Sentier International des Appalaches” which begins near Mount Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) and continues along the Appalachians into Canada. This GEOTIMES article explores the concept and route of the new international trail.
Related stories.
|
 |
Purple Diamonds Discovered in Quebec
March 6 | All Headline News
Nine purple diamonds were discovered in surface rock samples collected from the Ekomiak Conglomerate on a property in James Bay, Quebec.
Related stories.
|
 |
Preservation Method of the Burgess Shale Fossils
February 26 | Live Science
The Burgess Shale is a Cambrian-age black shale outcropping in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It contains a large number of exceptionally well preserved fossils. This article describes one idea about the exceptional preservation of these fossils.
Related stories.
|
 |
“How Do You Farm Organically Next to a Uranium Mine?
February 25 | The Log Cabin Democrat
That’s the question asked by a Nunn, Colorado resident who owns property near where Powertech Uranium Corporation of Canada plans to open a uranium mine.
Related stories.
|
 |
British Columbia’s New Tax on Carbon Emissions
February 24 | Energy Bulletin
British Columbia is the first government to begin taxing carbon emissions. Taxes on fuels that generate carbon emissions will go into effect. To start, drivers will pay 2.4 extra cents for a liter of gasoline. They hope that this tax will promote conservation and efficiency.
Related stories.
|
 |
Volcanoes May Have Caused the “Little Ice Ages”
February 5 | Rocky Mountain News
Researcher at the University of Colorado have found evidence to suggest that aerosols from tropical volcanoes likely cause the “Little Ice Ages”. They correlate ice cap growth of Baffin Island in 1280 and 1450 with increases in atmospheric aerosols.
Related stories.
|
 |
Joint US/Canada Publication on the Value of Geologic Maps
January 30 | USGS
The United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada have produced a joint publication: “Analysis of Improved Government Geological Map Information for Mineral Exploration: Incorporating Efficiency, Productivity, Effectiveness, and Risk Considerations”. It documents how the availability of government geologic maps can save exploration companies money. This publication is an all around great idea. It looks like a valuable read for state geologists preparing for a budget defense or rallying support from industry. And, it might be a good idea for neighboring state geological surveys to increase their cooperative work on the field, research and publication efforts behind the creation of geologic maps.
Related stories.
|
 |
Frozen Lakes and Rivers May Be a Thing of the Past
January 14 | National Science Foundation
A study examined records of ice cover on Northern Hemisphere lakes and rivers over the past 150 years - between 1846 and 1995. These showed a definite trend of few days of ice cover. Another study focused on ice duration in the Great Lakes area of the United States. Same conclusion.
Related stories.
|
 |
Queen Charlotte Islands Earthquakes
January 5 | USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Multiple earthquakes up to 6.5 magnitude have occurred in the Queen Charlotte Islands area, off the Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. At the time of this posting, two 6.5 event had occurred at 11:01 UTC and 11:44 UTC along with a 5.6 at 10:39 UTC and a 5.0 at 12:00 UTC. A tsunami is not expected. These earthquakes occured near the northern edge of the Juan de Fuca Plate.
Related stories.
|
 |
Heat from a Gold Mine Below Yellowknife
December 30 | Canoe.ca
Workers in the deep gold mines below Yellowknife, Northwest Territories have always known about the geothermal gradient. Now there are proposals to tap the heat from a couple of mines that remove gold from over two kilometers below the surface.
Related stories.
|
 |
Maps of Canada
December 29 | Geology.com
We recently upgraded our collection of static maps of Canada….. Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon Territory.
Related stories.
|
 |
Canada Preserves 25 Million Acres
November 28 | The Seattle Times
The Canadian government has set aside three tracts of land totalling 25 million acres in the the Northwest Territories. These will be used to create a national park, a wilderness area and a conservation area.
Related stories.
|
 |
Pictograph Photos
November 25 | Geology.com
Pictographs are a form of “rock art” in which people paint an image on the rock. Explore a worldwide collection of ancient pictograph images from Arizona, Aruba, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Namibia, Nevada and Utah.
Related stories.
|
 |
Tide Cycle and Earthquake Relationships
November 24 | SFGate.com
Scientists using highly sensitive seismic detectors on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia have found that the strength of faint tremors increases during periods of high tide and decreases during periods of low tide.
Related stories.
|
 |
Ancient Reptile Tracks - 315 MYO - Found in Canada
October 22 | BBC News UK
A slab covered with hundreds of fossil retile tracks has been discovered in New Brunswick, Canada. The tracks have five fingers and scales, which is good evidence that they were made by a reptile. They were probably made by Hylonomus lyelli.
Related stories.
|
 |
US and Canada Need to Discuss Northwest Passage
October 6 | The Seattle Times
This is an opinion editorial by Floyd McKay, a journalism professor emeritus of Western Washington University. He explores the significance of the Northwest Passage and Arctic access and suggests that the United States and Canada need to negotiate an agreement on how it can be used.
What is the Northwest Passage?
Related stories.
|
 |
CIA Image
|
Record Low Water Level in Lake Superior
October 5 | Associated Press
The water level of Lake Superior is at its lowest ever. The previous record was way back in 1925. This is especially significant because Superior is the biggest and the deepest of the Great Lakes and water level changes there represent a lot of water.
Related stories.
|
 |
USGS Image
|
Algae Growth Increasing in Canada’s Northernmost Lake
September 30 | Reuters Canada
Researchers from Laval University studied a sediment core from Ward Hunt Lake (Canada’s northernmost lake) that represented about 8450 years of record. They found that algae growth has increased significantly over the last two centuries. Older portions of the core had no algae, indicating that the lake was frozen all year.
Related stories.
|
 |
Kevin Lange © iStockphoto.com
|
Interesting Petroglyph Photos
September 24 | Geology.com
A petroglyph is an image that has been carved into a rock. People have been making them for thousands of years. This photographic collection of petroglyphs includes rock art from Arizona, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, India, Namibia, New Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Utah, Virgin Islands and Washington.
Related stories.
|
 |
Alaska Earthquake Triggered Activity On Vancouver Island
August 6 | Science Daily
University of Washington scientists have found clear evidence that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Alaska during 2002 triggered five tremor bursts on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The same earthquake sloshed lakes as far away as Louisiana and muddied wells as far away as Pennsylvania.
Related stories.
|
 |
Sudbury Meteorite Debris Found in Minnesota
July 16 | Star Tribune
About 1.85 billion years ago a meteorite impact formed a large crater in the Sudbury district of Ontario, Canada. Debris from that impact was scattered across thousands of square miles. Recently, the Ham Lake fire exposed pieces of impact debris in northern Minnesota and provide interesting clues to understanding the unusual nature of the impact crater.
Related stories.
|
 |
Global Warming - Locations at Risk
June 19 | MSN Travel
“Global Warning: The World’s Endangered Destinations” is a photo presentation of sixteen locations where global warming is expected to have a significant impact. These include: The Everglades; Kenai Fjords National Park; Great Barrier Reef; The Netherlands; Mt. Kilimanjaro; Tuvalu; South Georgia Island; Dalian, China; Venice; Tokyo, Japan; Wengen, Switzerland; Manhattan, New York City; Halong Bay, Vietnam; New Orleans; London, England; and Northwest Territories, Canada.
Related stories.
|
 |
NPS Image
|
Mammoths Wiped Out by Impact
May 17 | Canada.com
Sediments rich in iridium, fullerenes and other compounds associated with extraterrestrial impacts are found in lakes from New Mexico to Canada. These document that a large impact probably occurred about 12,000 years ago - corresponding to the extinction of the mammoths, mastodons and sloths that were once common in North America. It is at odds with the idea that these large mammals were hunted to extinction by humans.
Related stories.
|
 |
UNESCO Image
|
Automatic Tsunami Detection System for British Columbia
May 6 | The Globe and Mail
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a zone of recurrent earthquakes with the potential of producing a tsunami. It is so close to the continent that residents on the west side of Vancourver Island will have very little warning when a tsunami is produced. A new tsunami detection system takes advantage of GPS monitoring to detect horizontal ground motion and tidal monitoring to detect water motion. An earthquake followed by tsunami will make the ground and the water move in a specific pattern. The new system is configured to detect this pattern and send an automatic warning. The time require for human interpretation is eliminated, giving residents a precious few minutes of response before the tsunami arrives.
Related stories.
|
 |

Google Earth
|
Free High Resolution Satellite Images - Google Earth
Promotion | Geology.com
Google Earth is a free download that will allow you to view recent satellite images of Earth in 3D. Worldwide coverage. Fly over landscapes and cities, or zoom in on your house! This is the same program used by national news networks to give you great satellite images. Free download.
|
 |
|
|
 |