We are hosting a half day UNESCO Aspiring Geopark workshop on the geology of Georgian Bay being held on July 4th at the Midland Cultural Centre in Midland 9am-12 noon, Tuesday July 4th. Attendance is free. Sign up here.
Georgian Bay Geopark is a not-for-profit organisation and support for this workshop was generously provided by EdGeo the Canadian Earth Science Teacher Workshop Program.
The workshop will consist of lectures on the geology of Georgian Bay and a review of high educational resources developed by the Geopark for teachers and the public.
The overall purpose of the workshop is to ultimately generate local guardians of more than 140 geosites identified around Georgian Bay by providing knowledge tools and access to resources to area residents. The Geopark and U of T have developed online teaching modules, virtual field trips and other online resources for educators and the public and these will be presented at the workshop.
Professor Nick Eyles, University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) The geological evolution of North America and Georgian Bay: the case for a UNESCO Geopark
Dr. Kirsten Kennedy, Mitacs Post doctoral Fellow in Geoscience (UTSC) and Syed Bukhari (Ph.D student) Educational Resource kits and LiDAR mapping of geology sites around Georgian Bay
Please sign up here by June 24th if you are interested; we have space for about 35 participants.
DEEP TIME’ is the themed expression of how exploring and understanding the past helps create a better future. The unique DEEP TIME story and its eight geological chapters encourages both visitors and residents to know the past, celebrate the present and help create a more resilient future for the Bay and its many communities.
2.7 billion years
Sault Ste Marie to Serpent River
The ancient mineral-rich rocks of the North Channel record the breakup of the planet’s oldest supercontinent – and the birth of the Huronian Ocean.
1.8 billion years
Serpent River to Killarney
The Group of Seven’s white rolling quartzite hills are the stumps of mountains formed when landmasses collided to form supercontinent Nuna
1.3 billion years
Killarney to Honey Harbour
The waterscape of the 30,000 Islands exposes the deep crustal roots of the immense Grenville Mountains formed when North and South America collided.
500 million years
Manitoulin Island
Much of North America was covered by warm shallow seas, teeming with early marine life that left fossil-rich limestones on Manitoulin Island.
350 million years
Tobermory to Wiarton
Within the last 2 million years, the Bruce/Saugeen peninsula was scoured by Ice Age ice sheets that cut deep valleys into the face of the Niagara Escarpment such as at Owen Sound.
13,000 years
Collingwood to Wiarton
The raised beaches of glacial Lake Algonquin surround the coast of southern Georgian Bay like staircases and hosted the camps of caribou-hunting Paleo-Indians 11,000 years ago.
Last 10,000 years
Collingwood to Honey Harbour
The ancient hard rocks of the Canadian Shield meet the softer limestones of the ancient seas creating a stark contrast in landscapes, ecosystems, and a diverse cultural history unique in North America.
4,000 years to today
Waters of Georgian Bay
In 1615 Samuel de Champlain called Georgian Bay ‘La Mer Douce’ (the sweet water sea). An early map also portrays it as Karegnondi, derived from ‘lake’ in the language of the Petun First Nation.
