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Tag: Nanaimo Group

Prof. Shahin Dashtgard blogs on geology

Professor Shahin Dashtgard, P. Geo of SFU now has a blog at www.whattherock.ca to make geology more accessible to those who are interested in it. This was undertaken in response to his recent talk to the VPS and several emails he’s received recently asking geological and palaeontological questions.

With only three posts so far, he’s just getting started. With two of those posts about Vancouver Island, and plans to add a few on the Nanaimo Group, his writings should be of interest and instruction to our VicPS members.

June 26 – VicPS Field Trip

Mark your field trip calendars!

When: Sunday, June 26, 2022
Travel: Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9 am to arrange carpooling.

Paid members will have received the field trip destination description via email. Any others may plead your case to VicPS President Jerri Wilkins.

Access/Equipment: Site suitable for collectors of all ages and activity levels, although productivity of the site varies due to its protected nature. Parking is within a few meters of the start of a fifteen-minute walk on mostly flat ground to the site. This is an intertidal site, so expect slippery rocks. Fossils are found in the rock and in concretions, so small chisels and even a sturdy jackknife for the mudstones and a good hammer or sledge, chisel, and protective eyewear are required for the harder rock. Bring jacket hat, sunscreen, water and a lunch.

April 24 – VicPS Field Trip

Sunday, April 24: mark your field trip calendars! Originally scheduled for November, this fieldtrip was postponed due to the atmospheric river, so let’s hope for better luck this month.

Note the earlier meet-up and departure time of 8 am at the Helmcken Road Park & Ride. The target site is north of The Malahat and we need extra to/from driving time.

Paid members will have received the field trip destination description via email. Any others may plead your case to VicPS President Jerri Wilkins.

VicPS meeting Wednesday Feb. 9, 7:30 pm

Please join VicPS at our monthly meeting on February 9th at 7:30pm for the following:

The Cretaceous Nanaimo Group, B.C.: A Complicated Depositional History on an Active Margin, presented by Shahin E. Dashtgard, Applied Research in Ichnology and Sedimentology (ARISE) Group, Dpt. of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada.

This presentation is open to all BC Palaeontology Society Members and guests. The meeting will be recorded for future reference. Paid members of VicPS and BCPS will have received the Zoom meeting connection details by email.

To request the Zoom details again, please contact VicPS President Jerri Wilkins.

October 17 field trip –

When: Sunday, October 17, 2021

Where: Please see email to registered members for location details.

We are revisiting the second site from the September field trip to investigate further. It consists of a few pits, appeared to be created by blasting. In September the hard matrix revealed brachiopods and what appear to be trigonids.

Site suitable for families.

Travel: Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9 am to arrange carpooling.

Equipment: The rock is TOUGH, with fossils in bedrock, not concretions. Bring your big hammers, chisel, safety glasses and gloves. Big boulders can be slippery; hiking boots recommended. Bring drinking water and bag lunch. Dress for rain, wind or sunshine (windbreaker, hat, sunscreen).

Exposure: Upper Cretaceous (90MY before present), Nanaimo Group, Upper Comox to Lower Haslam Formations. This small exposure of Nanaimo Group sediment is gritty sandstone/mudstone similar to Stephenson Point and thought to be Upper Comox to Lower Haslam in age, although no definitive reference could be sourced.

September 19 field trip

When: 9:00AM, Sunday, September 19, 2021

Where: A benefit of membership is the email describing this trip. The sites to be visited are easily accessible and suitable for families.

Exposure: Upper Cretaceous (90MY before present), Nanaimo Group, Upper Comox to Lower Haslam Formations.

Directions: Victoria area members, meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9:00 am to arrange carpooling. Members from up-island may join the trip in Duncan when we stop at Java World for a coffee between 9:45 and 10 am.

Equipment: The rock is TOUGH, with fossils in bedrock, not concretions. Bring your big hammers, chisel, safety glasses and gloves. Big boulders can be slippery; hiking boots recommended. Bring drinking water and bag lunch. Dress for rain, wind or sunshine
(windbreaker, hat, sunscreen).

Contact: RSVP Jerri Wilkins, Field Trip Lead, via the VicPS Facebook page or via email.