Your backyard geology, part 21: Quarries: Gravel, sand and opposition
If you count Fred Flintstone (who was employed by Slater Rock and Gravel Company), people have used quarries since prehistoric times.
Your Backyard Geology (Column)
Jade — Green, tough, and valuable
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 577 tonnes. It was speculated to be worth $5.8 billion. There is no consensus on what is the largest piece of jade ever found. To start, there are two different …
Ross River coal: Transforming plants to carbon
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 decades, however, coal has received a bad reputation as a major source of acid rain and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Then there has always been the proverbial threat of …
The White River Ash, the mega eruption next door – Part 4
Past volcanic eruptions in Alaska have resulted in massive displacement of peoples and widespread environmental damage in the Yukon.
The Tintina Trench
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.
Carmacks agate
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.
The awe of quartzite beneath you
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 minerals they are made of, are integral to our existence. We interact with them in many ways every day. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher and writer, wrote in …
