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13 August 2012
Class portrait at the Walcott Quarry
Here’s my crew from July’s Regional Field Geology of the Canadian Rockies course, checking out the Burgess Shale at the Walcott Quarry in Yoho National Park. A couple of the locals joined us for this portrait. Original photo courtesy of Stephen Smith, modified by CB
31 July 2012
Deformed carbonatite dikes in Cambrian slate, Yoho National Park, British Columbia
Callan’s Canadian Rockies field course visits an outcrop of Cambrian slate in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Folded and boudinaged carbonatite dikes are seen.
7 July 2012
Structures seen at Floe Lake
A showcase of geologic structures observed between downpours of rain at Floe Lake, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. Cleavage, bedding, folds, faults, and strain are all presented for the discerning structural reader’s edification and titillation.
5 July 2012
Floe Lake hike
Last summer, my wife and I spent some time in the Canadian Rockies. One of the things we did was to take a three-day backpacking trip to Floe Lake, in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. We picked a rough couple of days for hiking – We got a lot of Canadian Rockies precipitation out there: we got rained on, hailed on, and snowed on during those three days. Here’s our …
2 July 2012
Where I’ll be next week
I’m headed off Saturday to the Canadian Rockies for two weeks. My colleague Pete Berquist and I are leading a regional field geology course up there. It’s a new gig for both of us, and I’m sure the trip will be quite a learning experience. As I was preparing for the trip today, I drew this cartoon to clarify in my mind the distinguishing characteristics of the three main physiographic …
21 May 2012
Up on Sulphur Mountain
Here’s the view riding up (or down) Sulphur Mountain, Banff, on the gondola: As you can probably tell from the cable lines’ misalignment, this was a composite (stitched) photo. Mt. Rundle is in the background. If you turn to the left, you can see Tunnel Mountain, south of the town of Banff: Tunnel Mountain is interesting on a couple of levels. To a glaciologist, it’s a roche moutonée — a …
7 May 2012
Clark’s nutcracker on Sulphur Mountain
Friday it was geese. Today, it’s a Clark’s nutcracker: The Clark’s nutcracker is a beefy alpine corvid (perching birds related to crows) of the American west. It’s a great bird in my mind, because if you’re looking at one, it means you’re up in the high country. It means you’re out where the good stuff happens. The bird is named for William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. There …
20 December 2011
Video book review: “Smithsonian Institution Secretary, Charles Doolittle Walcott”
Here’s where to get yourself a copy: Smithsonian Institution Secretary, Charles Doolittle Walcott My visit to Walcott’s grave (alluded to in the video) is here. [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armXHEa4PGo”]
28 October 2011
Friday fold: cleaved slate in Kootenay National Park
This summer, a week or two after our wedding, my wife and I found ourselves in the Canadian Rockies for a pre-honeymoon. Part of our time was spent on a backpacking trip to Floe Lake in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. On our hike in, we passed this outcrop of Chancellor Slate, a Cambrian aged deposit of mud which got deformed during the compressional mountain building event that thrust up …
30 September 2011
Friday fol(r)d
Straight-limbed open synform in an organic-rich formation of limited areal extent, featuring some brittle extensional features at the hinge. Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, summer 2011. (The bridge was broken before we got there.)
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.