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2.2.3 Geological Mapping
Systematic scientific research on the history of the geological structures in Canada and Quebec fell under the responsibility of governments and was initiated in 1842 with the foundation of the Geological Survey of Canada. Survey geologists, particularly its first director, William Edmund Logan, were mandated to describe the rocks, soils and minerals of Canada and to map the geological structures.
Logan, for example, surveyed Southern Quebec, first on a large scale, then on a smaller scale, for regions with mining potential, while in the 1880s and 1890s, A.P. Low explored the large rivers of Northern Quebec by canoe and on foot, with Native American guides.
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Finding one’s bearings and measuring the directions of formations required the use of a compass as well as a geologist’s hammer to take rock samples, and a sample bag to send them to the laboratory for analysis.
Geologist’s compass |
Geologist’s hammer |
Ore sample bag |
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The information collected and analysed was then used to prepare reports and maps which were published to provide information about potential ore deposits for prospectors and mining geologists.
The Government of Quebec’s Mines Service, created in 1881 with the appointment of mining engineer Joseph Obalski, also carried out detailed exploration of mining sites and regions and produced reports and maps of the most promising regions.
A number of the Department’s geologists were even involved in the discovery of vast deposits: J.A. Retty, for example, in the discovery of iron and titanium at Lac Allard near Havre-Saint-Pierre.
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