Friday fold: differential weathering of carbonate intraclasts in mudstone

Howard Allen is the documentarian of this week’s fold: Howard writes that this is: Middle Cambrian Chancellor Formation rock with recessive weathering intraclasts(?). Hamilton Lake trail, Yoho National Park, British Columbia. My interpretation of this one is a little shaky–it was raining when I took the photo (in 1982) and I was hiking with a … Read more

Structural geology of Mount Evan-Thomas

Longtime reader and frequent contributor Howard Allen has three images to share with us today. Let’s see what he’s got… Oh my. What is that? West ridge of Mount Evan-Thomas, Opal Range, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta. View looking south across Grizzly Creek at structural features (yellow boxes outline detail images to highlight key features, … Read more

Friday fold: rolled boudin

Howard Allen returns with a Friday fold contribution for this week. He says: Not exactly a fold, but I thought you’d like this rolled boudin(?) (quartz) in a muscovite garnet schist (note garnets above the lens cap). This specimen is also from the Shuswap Metamorphic Complex, north of Sicamous, British Columbia. Lovely. Thanks for sharing, … Read more

Friday fold: Shuswap marble, British Columbia

Howard Allen, a blog reader from Canada, digitized a bunch of folds for us from his old Kodachrome slides. You’ll be seeing selections from these images over the weeks to come. Get psyched! There are some great folds in this batch. Here’s the first: Howard’s description: 3D folded marble, Shuswap Metamorphic Complex, north of Sicamous, … Read more

Fossil clams at Devil’s Coulee, Alberta

At the eroded gully known as Devil’s Coulee in Alberta, you can find armored mudballs, dinosaur fossils (including eggshell), and even marine clams at higher levels in the sequence. Check out these lovely beasts: They lived and died on the western shore of the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous period of geologic time. My … Read more

Friday fold: Okanagan gneiss

Todd Redding is our genorous sponsor for this week’s Friday fold. Todd reports that this boulder is derived from the Okanagan Metamorphic Complex near Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. He gives its lat/long as 49°28’14.10″N, 119°30’23.14″W. Did you spot the small fault in there, too? Thanks for sharing, Todd!

Friday fold: Kink banding in Purcell limestones, Crypt Lake trail

Hiking up to Crypt Lake in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada, you can see some sweet stromatolites, and folds, too. But it’s not only that – you can also find some decent kink bands in those strata, too! These kink bands will serve as our Friday fold, on this Crypt-Lake-o-centric week. Here’s a second, … Read more

Stromatolites along the trail to Crypt Lake

On the trail up to Crypt Lake in Waterton Lakes National Park (southernmost Alberta, Canada), there’s a ‘traditional’ hiking trail, and then an intense ledge on a glacial headwall that you must teeter along, including scaling your body up into and through a person-sized tunnel! Right at the transition between the two “phases” of the … Read more

The trail to Crypt Lake

Today, I’d like to share some images with you from Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. This is the Crypt Lake hike, a popular (but grueling) hike in the park. It starts at the Waterton Marina, across Emerald Bay from the Prince of Wales Hotel. Mount Crandell and the Bear’s Hump are visible in … Read more