City Of Edmonton - Rockwalk Tour 1 EarthCache
City Of Edmonton - Rockwalk Tour 1
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| Welcome to the Edmonton Earthcache |
This short tour will direct you to visit seven different locations in downtown Edmonton where you can witness the use of different rocks and minerals as incorporated into our city centre buildings. We don't often think about the importance of these natural products and their impact on our everyday lives, however by taking this tour, I hope to draw your attention to their significance in defining our architectural heritage. At each location, you will need to take note of what you see as there is a question that must be answered in order to log this Earthcache. Once you have finished this tour, I welcome you to embark upon the 2nd tour GC19JJW that will lead you to another 6 locations in downtown Edmonton. Please note that I have provided building locations based on either coordinates (using your GPSr with projections) as well as municipal addresses as the tall buildings may wreak havoc with your GPSr accuracy.
Okay .. Here we go ...
Start at the Posted Coordinates N53 32.525 W113 29.170
This will lead you to Canada Place at 9700 Jasper Avenue. There is an abundance of Rosa Sardo (polished pink granite) used for the fountains, benches and columns in the building as well as fired rock variety for the interior and exterior entrance ways and parts of the floor. The difference is in the texture where the polished rock feels very smooth and the fired finish is rougher to the touch - much more suitable as a floor finish as polished granite would be much more slippery. The granite itself is composed of quartz (light grey in color), pink feldspars, plagioclase (white) feldspar and mafic (black) minerals.
Question 1.. Looking at the polished granite, what percentage of the surface area would you approximate is comprised of the plagioclase feldspar?
And, while you're here - take a picture of you and your GPSr at one of the fountains or benches and post.
Now Project a waypoint at 269m at 251 degrees true from the posted coordinates
You should be standing in front of what was once the site of the Imperial Bank of Commerce building at 9990 Jasper Avenue which opened up to the public in 1891. In 1952 the current larger building was constructed designed by renowned architect Col. A. J. Everett. The exterior of the building uses fossiliferous, Indiana Limestone and blue-black diorite. Of special interest are the relief panels comprised of the Indiana Limestone and the intricate carvings.
Question 2.. Looking at the carvings (about 20' high), please identify what they are and their approximate dimensions (length by height).
Now Project a waypoint at 49m at 270 degrees true from the coordinates of location #2
You should be standing in front of the Toronto Dominion Bank Building at 10004 Jasper Avenue. The building is primarily comprised of marble - Carrarra Marble to be technical. This is one of the worlds most common building stones and it is mined from the Carrarra region in Northwest Italy. This marble is a mosaic of calcite crystals 0.1mm to 0.3mm in size and contains 97% calcite, with minor feldspar and mica.
Question 3.. What is the primary color of the marble?
Now Project a waypoint at 158m at 265 degrees true from the coordinates of location #3
You should be standing in front of the Empire Building at 10080 Jasper Avenue. On the site of the Empire Building in 1905 were the first offices of the Government of Alberta. The Empire Building was dedicated in 1962 to the memory of Alexander McDougal and Richard Secord, pioneer citizens of Edmonton who erected the original building. There is a very coarse grained granite that clads most of the exterior of the building - with large pink crystals of feldspar, dating back about 1.8 million years ago and originating in Minnesota. There is another type of granite used at the entrance on the east end of the building where there are letters carved from the dedication ceremony.
Question 4.. What is the color of the granite at the east side of the south entrance and would it be considered coarse grained or fine grained?
Now Project a waypoint at 54m at 256 degrees true from the coordinates of location #4
You should be standing in front of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building at 10102 Jasper Avenue. This is one of Edmonton's last and best examples of the traditional, classic style of architecture (Edwardian Classical Revival Style) used for financial institutions. It has a symmetrical design and the detail of the stonework diminishes towards the top of the building. Classical elements such as columns, entablature, balconets at the fourth floor windows and antifixae on the edge of the roof complete the impressive design. This building has an abundance of Tyndall Limestone as its exterior finish - quarried 30km's northeast of Winnipeg at Garson, MB. The characteristic branching pattern of Tyndall Stone was formed as worms or shrimp burrowed through the mud on the ocean floor. The rock is composed of calcite (light color) and dolomite (darker color). It contains numerous fossils and is in the order of 450 million years old.
Question 5.. At the west end of this building is a marker about McDougall & Secord Stores ... what year did they form a partnership?
Now Project a waypoint at 37m at 229 degrees true from the coordinates of location #5
You should be standing in front of the Royal Bank Building at 10117 Jasper Avenue. This building was constructed in 1964 and then upgraded in 1990. The lobby of the building appears to be spectacular Blue Norwegian Moonstone or Blue Pearl . trade names for a rock called larvikite so named as it comes from the Town of Larvik, Norway. The entry of the bank as well as its interior are walled in beige to white travertine - a sedimentary rock. The exterior of the building is a granite that may look brown, pink or blue - depending on the lighting conditions. Some say that the quartz crystals in the rock resemble blue eyes.
Question 6..Based on some of the granites you've seen in other locations on this tour, and as identified within the cache page, would you consider this one to be fine grained, medium grained or coarse grained?
Now Project a waypoint at 59m at 086 degrees true from the coordinates of location #6
This building is no longer standing - demolished in April / May of 2012. This was the site of the original Bank of Montreal Building at 10089 Jasper Avenue. A gorgeous Dimension Stone used in the original building is one of the oldest - believed to be 3.6 billion years old. It is named Morton Gneiss and comes from Minnesota. Dimension Stone slabs are cut from a large block of rock and is usually less than an inch thick. This building had special treatment as the adjacent cut slabs were placed to create a matching pattern at the exterior. This gave the building a very classy look.
Question 7..Considering this building is no longer standing, do some research on 'Morton Gneiss' and advise whether it is a sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic rock. I am hopeful that some of the Gneiss that was saved from the original building will be incorporated in some fashion in the new facility ... time will tell.
Well that concludes the first tour and you will note there were seven fairly simple questions that must be answered (please email to me) and one picture that must be taken and posted with your log in order for you to log this earthcache. I hope you have enjoyed your tour!
Reference ....
Dixon Edwards, W. A., 2004. EUB/AGS Rock Walk IV - A Rock Walk Through Downtown Edmonton. C. I. M. AGM tour and guidebook, May 12, 2004; in AGS Rock Chips, Fall/Winter 2003 edition.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)