The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Sciences Sector of

Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; ; )Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for natural r ...

, the GSC is the country's oldest scientific agency and was one of its first government organizations.

History

In September 1841, the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

legislature passed a resolution that authorized the sum of £1,500 sterling be granted to the government for the estimated expense of performing a geological survey of the province. In 1842, the Geological Survey of Canada was formed to fulfill this request.Christy Vodden (1992)
No Stone Unturned: The First 150 years of the Geological Survey of Canada
Geological Survey of Canada Web site Selwyn GSC survey party 1871

William Edmond Logan Sir William Edmond Logan, FRSE FRS FGS (20 April 1798 – 22 June 1875), was a Canadian-born geologist and the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada. Life William Edmond Logan was born into a well-to-do Montreal family ...

was in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

at the time and made it known that he was interested in participating in this survey. Gaining recommendations from prominent British scientists, Logan was appointed the first GSC director on April 14, 1842. Four months later, Logan arrived in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, to compile the existing body of knowledge of Canada's geology. In the spring of 1843, Logan established the GSC's headquarters in Montreal (in his brother's warehouse and then in a rented house on Great St. James Street (now Saint Jacques Street). One of the prominent cartographers and the chief topographical draughtsman was Robert Barlow, who began his work in 1855. Chemist T. Sterry Hunt joined in the early days and the Survey added

paleontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

capability in 1856 with the arrival of

Elkanah Billings Elkanah Billings (May 5, 1820 – June 14, 1876) is often referred to as Canada's first paleontologist. Billings was born on a farm by the Rideau River outside Bytown (Ottawa), now known as Billings Estate. His parents were named Lamira Dow an ...

. After

Aylesworth Perry Aylesworth Bowen Perry, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (August 21, 1860 – February 14, 1956) served as the sixth Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, from August 1, 1900, to March 31, 1923. Early life Aylesworth Perry wa ...

was appointed as acting librarian in 1881 he prepared the catalogue of reference works on

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

.Pauline MacDonald and Rosemarie Pleasant (2004), ''150 Years Of Library Service'', Natural Resources Canada website.

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. He performed many early explorations in western North America and compiled numerous records of the native peoples. Biography He was born in ...

became a staff member in 1875, progressed to assistant director in 1883 and finally to director of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1895. The Geological Survey of Canada first began allowing women to conduct fieldwork in the early 1950s. Dr. Alice Wilson, the first of these women, lobbied for the inclusion of paleontologist Frances Wagner shortly afterward. Around this same time, the GSC employed a third woman Dr. Helen Belyea.

Programs and activities

1. Geoscience for mineral and Northern Development

Canada has the geoscience required to attract mineral investment across Canada, to inform sustainable development of the North, and to work with allied countries to become a leading supplier of responsibly developed minerals.

2. Geoscience for land management

Canada has the geoscience required to inform responsible resource development and environmental stewardship in both terrestrial and marine environments, and to support its

extended continental shelf The extended continental shelf, scientific continental shelf, or outer continental shelf, refers to a type of maritime area, established as a geo-legal paradigm by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Through the process kno ...

submissions to the United Nations.

3. Geoscience for climate and disaster resilience

Decision makers and communities have access to the geoscience that they need to make Canada more resilient to natural hazards and climate change, and to achieve a net-zero future.

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

Life of a Rock Star

NWT Historical Timeline, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
Sir William E. Logan and the Geological Survey of Canada
including Logan's journals, scrapbook and photographs
The Papers of Robert Bell
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Geological Survey Of Canada Federal departments and agencies of Canada Natural Resources Canada 1842 establishments in Canada Scientific organizations based in Canada National geological agencies Province of Canada Geological surveys