Three things I learned about geology

By Carly Robillard

As a result of a collaboration with the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences, geologist Dr. Victoria Stinson spent time at Pukaskwa National Park this summer as a Geologist in Residence. She helped visitors and staff learn about rocks found in the park. Allow me to share the lessons I learned as program coordinator.

Lesson 1: Pukaskwa’s geology is a drama in three acts.

From reading various research materials, I knew Pukaskwa National Park hosts a variety of unique geological landscapes and features. What I didn’t know was how they all fit together into one story. Victoria helped me to tease apart the complex timeline of how the park’s rock formed. Instead of being the result of one long messy volcanic period, the rocks that visitors see today were formed during three very distinct (and dynamic) points in time, with long periods of stability between them – sometimes lasting millions of years. Put very briefly, Act 1 was a collision of continents that fused together; Act 2 was the sudden welling-up of the mid-continental rift; and Act 3 was the impact of glaciers scraping over the landscape.

Lesson 2: Geological science is fun and creative.

Despite my passion for other natural sciences, I was never particularly drawn to geology in school. So, I was unsure if Victoria and I were going to be able to find a way to make geological sciences fun for visitors, especially children.

As I brainstormed with Victoria, I realised that the way kids learn about the world around them is directly applicable to the work that geologists do. Can you draw the shapes that you see in this rock, or the pattern that the waves leave on the beach? How many colours can you find? Is it light or heavy? How do you think those shapes got there? These kinds of questions and activities provide everyone with real practice in the science of geology, just like the academics do.

Lesson 3: Geology is a much younger science than I thought it was.

Considering that some of the rocks that make up the earth are billions of years old, you would think that our understanding of their formation would be similarly well-established. As it turns out, the theory of plate tectonics that I take for granted when I think about geology, is only 50 years old. There are visitors to our site that graduated high school before the concept would have even made it into school textbooks. That realisation made me better appreciate the value of actively interpreting the geology of the park to visitors – our programs may be the first time that visitors learn how the continents slowly shift against each other to cause some of the changes still seen in the landscape today.

My colleagues and I greatly appreciated learning about Pukaskwa’s landscape from the first Geologist in Residence. We look forward to sharing those lessons with visitors through interpretive programming beginning next year. See you then!

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