Malachite
CANADIAN ROCKIES,
AMMONITES & FOSSILS
In 2012 I travelled to the adjoining Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta in western Canada. The region is rich
geologically and contains many gem & mineral resources. The photos below summarise some of the features which will
hopefully be of interest to gem/mineral/fossil enthusiasts.
Trans-Canada
highway, B.C.
Mt Robson, on the trans-Canada highway, B.C. The
highest mountain in the Canadian rockies.
The Athabasca Glacier is part of the Columbia
Icefield, which covers an area of about 200 square
km. The glacier flows down hill at around 15 - 20 m
per year at the lower end, but at up to 127 m per
year in the upper part.
At the lower end of the Athabasca Glacier you can
see on the left side part of the ‘lateral moraine’
deposited by the glacier. Lateral moraines consist of
rock debris and sediment that have come loose from
the walls beside a valley glacier and have built up in
ridges along the sides of the glacier.
The Saskatchewan Glacier, showing the lateral
moraine on the LHS of the valley and the glacial till
(rock & soil carried by the glacier) on the valley floor
downstream of the glacier.
Lake Louise, in the Rocky Mountains, showing
several glaciers in the distance.
In the city of Canmore, Alberta, there is an
Ammonite factory which I visited. The pictures in this
slide show some of the Ammonite specimens and
gem material on display.
THE ROYAL TYRELL
MUSEUM OF
PALAEONTOLOGY
is located in Drumheller in Alberta. This museum
contains a large number of spectacular dinosaur
skeletons recovered in the region. It provides an
excellent insight into the wide range of fossils which
have been discovered in Alberta, varying from the
enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex to the lovely
Ammonites.
DINOSAUR
PROVINCIAL PARK
South of the Royal Tyrell Museum is Dinosaur
Provincial Park, located in the ‘Badlands’ (a dry
eroded area which contains extensive fossil
deposits).
In Dinosaur Provincial Park, there are many areas
where large numbers of fossils are found together,
covering large areas. It is believed that the large
numbers of dinosaur fossils found in this area may
be the result of a natural disaster such as a tsunami,
as the area was next to an ancient inland sea at the
time!
The photo to the left shows you a view of Moraine
lake, located near Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies.
It has formed behind a ‘terminal moraine’ as a result of
glacial action.
The photo to the left shows you a view of Moraine
lake, located near Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies.
It has formed behind a ‘terminal moraine’ as a result of
glacial action.
While driving through Washington State, along hwy 90,
I visited Ginkgo Petrified Forest state park. At a local
rock shop I got to see some of the material which had
been collected from the area. Quite spectacular. See
the four photos to the left.
THE HAWAII VOLCANOES
NATIONAL PARK
is located on the island of Hawai’i, or the ‘big
island’. The park includes part of Mauna Loa
volcano and also contains Kilauea volcano, two of
the most active volcanoes in the world. Over the
last 200 years they have erupted, on average,
every 2 or 3 years. Most eruptions of these
volcanoes are non-explosive and the volcanoes
are monitored by the USGS (US Geological
Survey).
Hawaiian lava is highly fluid and mainly
composed of basalt. This fluidity reduces the
likelihood of explosive eruptions. Most eruptions
begin with lava fountains spouting from a series
of fissures. In 1959 a lava fountain some 580 m
high was observed.
ABOVE AND LEFT:
KILAUEA volcano showing steam from the vent. At
night the glow of the lava is clearly visible.
LEFT:
This photo shows Kilauea volcano at night. The
lava lake in the vent causes the glow in the gases
escaping from the vent. This is the same crater
shown above left.
L: Looking over the crater of Kilauea Iki, showing
the once-molten lake of lava on the crater floor.
Kiauea’s vent is visible in the background. Kilauea
means “spewing”, which is what happened on
14/11/1959 when a curtain of lava burst from a
800 m long fissure in the crater wall. Over five
weeks molten rock flooded the crater, creating a
lake of lava that rose halfway up the crater walls
(some 120m high, approximately 86 million
tonnes of lava).
Note the cinder cone, Pu’u Pua’I, in the centre of
the photo. This cone did not exist prior to the
1959 eruption. The reddish-brown cavity at the
base of this cone was the main vent from which
lava erupted, surging some 580 m above the
vent. [See the photo below left] During one
eruptive episode spatter (blobs of molten rock)
up to one metre in diameter shot across the
crater landing near where this photo was taken!
Note the main vent (reddish-brown) at the base
of the cone. There are people walking across the
floor of the crater which provides an indication of
the size of the crater.
A small part of the floor of the crater of Kilauea
Iki. When the vent stopped erupting (after being
submerged by the lava lake) the molten lava
drained back into the vent. As this occurred the
lava crust subsided and broke in to the surface
you see today. There are still active steam vents
on the crater floor.
The road was closed by the lava flow in 2003.
A black sand beach formed from the lava flows.
You can also visit green beaches (olivine) and
white beaches (coral) on the ‘big island’.
Vegetation is slowly returning to the lava flows.
Initially lichen and mosses appear, then small
ferns in the cracks in the lava, then larger plants.
Note the interesting lava shape in the middle of
the picture.
‘Holei’ Sea Arch, some 18 m high, where the lava
flows are being eroded by the sea.
The two photos left, plus the one below, are of
the Moku’aweoweo caldera at the summit of
Mauna Loa on the island of Hawai’i (the ‘big
island’). The summit is 4169 m above sea level.
These photos were taken from a helicopter in
misty/rainy conditions, typical of the area. They
clearly show the molten lava in the crater.
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL
PARK