Courtenay, British Columbia, in the heart of the Comox Valley, has a museum. As most small cities and towns do. In 1988, the local history nature of this museum changed forever with the discovery of an Elasmosaur along the Puntledge River west of the city. With it, the modern day Courtenay and District Museum and … Read more
Grand, government supported museums are wonderful, but there’s something special about passion projects. Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Centre (CRESRC) is one such project. Located in downtown Canmore in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, CRESRC is the brainchild of Rick Green, a semi-retired geophysicist in the Canadian oil patch. Long active with the Canmore Museum, Mr. Green … Read more
Blue Beach Fossil Museum is something all geology fanatics can appreciate, particularly those with a love of palaeontology. A homegrown, grassroots endeavour, this museum is home to an impressive, and growing, fossil collection documenting Lower Carboniferous tetrapods in Romer’s Gap. Romer’s Gap is a 15 million year period at the beginning of the Carboniferous in … Read more
The first time you go to Sudbury, Ontario, you’re all but obligated get a photo at The Big Nickel. Depending on how often you go, this might be an obligation for every trip to Sudbury. At one time, this tradition was nothing but a roadside “world’s biggest” attraction. Now, thanks to Dynamic Earth, it’s at … Read more
Bell Island is the largest island in Conception Bay and lies off the coast to the west of St. John’s, Newfoundland. That may seem unremarkable, but from 1895 to 1966 this tiny island was a major, global iron ore mining hotspot. So imporant was it, that Nazi Germany attacked it twice during the second world … Read more
British Columbia’s west coast is renowned for it’s natural beauty. The Sea to Sky Highway (#99) offers many opportunities to see Mother Nature’s handywork as it winds its way along the east side of Howe Sound from Vancouver to Squamish and then Whistler. Along the way, you’ll encounter an imposing white building built into the … Read more
The Manitoba Museum, fittingly, is found in the heart of Manitoba’s capital city, Winnipeg. The current museum opened in 1970 but its history goes back much further. Its initial incarnation began in 1932 and the collection was started as far back as 1879. As of writing, it is under construction (still open) preparing for its … Read more
The town of Morden, Manitoba, roughly 130 km southwest of Winnipeg, is home to certified monster. His name is Bruce and 43 feet long, he is the largest mosasaur skeleton in the world. Discovered nearby in 1974, Bruce lives inside the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. This museum in southern Manitoba officially opened in 1979 and … Read more
Joggins is a tiny, rural community on the west shore of Chignecto Bay in the Bay of Fundy. This old Nova Scotia mining village would be unremarkable were it not for the cliffs exposed along the bay’s shoreline. These cliffs reveal the most complete geological record of the Carboniferous period, also known as the coal … Read more
People come to the Bay of Fundy to see the tides, and rightly so. But the Fundy region also boasts a trove of geological treasures many of which are on display at Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Parrsboro is located on the south shore of the Nova Scotia Peninsula (the triangular bit on … Read more