Watching Pre-Historic Geology

Posted by Susanna McLeod Oct 7, 2007

Magnificent is one word for it. Spectacular, breath-taking, astounding… these words could all be used to describe Geologic Journey, a series of special programs Sunday evenings on CBC Television in the last few weeks. Hosted by earth scientists, Geologic Journey uncovers the pre-history of Canada, the very makings of the land we stand on and life we live, all in clear language and with amazing photography and graphics.

My eyes were glued to the screen as the camera dove underwater to show the rocky formations of the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls. I didn’t know there had once been a mountain range here that “rivaled the Himalayas in size”!

The show on the Canadian Shield explained how the north became famous for gold, and how that gold was formed deep under the earth and pushed up through in veins, difficult to find but worth all the effort. Detailed graphs helped make clear just exactly what is going on far under our feet.

But, I had missed the special on the incredible Rockies and only caught a few minutes of the examination of the beautiful Appalachians – both striking features of the landscape that makes North American living so varied.

This weekend, the final episode airs featuring the AtlanticCoast. Scientists will describe the past volcanic action, the fossils and the “break-up of a super-continent.” Glimpses of the starkness and beauty of how Eastern Canada came to be will be discussed.

It’s an amazing world, isn’t it? I hope Geological Journey will be on again soon.

Please follow the links to find more information and clips about each episode of Geologic Journey. Even if you can't see the show, the site includes Field Guides, Episode Guides, interviews with the scientists and information about the book.