Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, …
ca. 7.9 metres of textual records -- ca. 274 maps -- 29 VHS tapes -- ca.15 discs with digital files -- 21 cassettes -- photographs -- oversized materials -- USB stick with 15 sldeshows
History / Biographical
Ben Gadd (1946-) is a retired naturalist, guide, geologist, instructor, freelance writer and award-winning author based in the Canadian Rockies.
Ben was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. He met his wife, Cia (Langdon) Gadd at Colorado College in 1965, and the couple married four weeks later. Ben and Cia had two sons, Will and Toby. Ben and his family relocated to Jasper in the late 1960s. Ben later attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science in 1972.
Between 1976 and 1980, Ben taught classes at Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; he later taught additional classes at Grant MacEwan College and Lakeland College. From 1981, Ben also worked as a seasonal naturalist/guide for Parks Canada. Ben left Parks Canada in 1985 to start an independent naturalist guiding business with Cia based in Jasper and other parts of the Canadian Rockies, which the couple continued to operate for over two decades.
Ben published his best-known work, "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies", through his publishing company Corax Press in 1986. The second edition of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" received multiple awards after its release in 1995. Ben's fiction book, "Raven's End" won the title of Best Canadian Rockies Book at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2001 and became a Canadian bestseller. Overall, Ben has authored or co-authored 11 books and received nearly one dozen awards for his achievements as a writer, researcher and guide.
Ben continued to lead guided hikes and school programs until his retirement in 2016.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, video and sound recordings, and other related material. Materials donated in 2024 include one USB stick containing
Notes
Ben Gadd fonds arrangement:
Series I : Personal records
- Subseries A : Travel guides and maps
- Subseries B : Education and early writings
- Subseries C : Personal interest files
- Subseries D : Other personal and collected
Series II : Research and publication records
- Subseries A : Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
- Subseries B : Other publications
Series III : Professional records
- Subseries A : Parks Canada Records
- Subseries B : Interpretive guiding
- Subseries C : Teaching records
- Subseries D : Other contracts and projects
Series IV : Legal and financial records
- Subseries A : Legal records
- Subseries B : Financial records
This geological guide will assist tourists to choose and visit easily accessible sites that exemplify the sensational vistas in Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks. It was this breathtaking scenery for which the parks were given status as a UNESCO Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. The route is along the principle highways from Canmore to Banff, to Lake Louise, a side trip to Field, BC, back to Lake Louise and then north to Jasper through the Icefields Parkway. Explanations, color photographs, illustrations and maps highlight the geology for 50 sites. Mountains, rivers, glaciers and 500 million year fossils of the Burgess Shale are described. The book will assist travellers on how to arrive at a viewpoint, where to park and where to walk. Travellers interested in natural history such as birding, the vegetation and wildlife will want this book to understand the geological wonders that they are. Dale Leckie is an award-winning geologist who is internationally recognized for his many contributions to geology. Dale has a Ph.D. in Geology from McMaster University (1984), a M.Sc in Geography from McMaster University (1980) and B.Sc. in Geography from University of Alberta (1977). Dale Leckie is a Professional Geologist who has worked as a scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada and as Chief Geologist in a large Canadian energy company. He has edited numerous books and published over a 100 refereed papers most of those on the geology of Western Canada. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Geoscience Department at the University of Calgary. Dale has been President of the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) and Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG). He has been leading geological field trips into the Rocky Mountains throughout his career.
(from McNally Robinson website)
Contents
Author's preface
Introduction
Organization of this book
Trip planner
Safety
Setting the stage
Mount Yamnuska to Banff Townsite
Geology of the Banff Townsite area
Banff to Lake Louise
Over the pass: the Field area in Yoho National Park
Along the ridge: the Icefields Parkway
Geology of the Jasper Townsite area
Dissoloving the limestone: canyons, caves and lakes of the Maligne River
Pertains to Permian Ishbel group in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and attempts to unite the understanding of scattered occurances of fauna within these fossil records.
Notes
In Journal of Paleontology Vol. 42, No. 5 (Sep., 1968), pp. 1123-1139
A collection of stories from the perspectives of personified minerals found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Contents
Introduction -- Lucy Calcite -- Sir Charles Zircon -- Jenny Apatite -- Joel Illite -- Captain Susi Sanidine -- Sam Coal -- Emma Amphipora -- David Rock Flour -- Karen Waterdrop -- Peter Pebble -- Bridget Cement -- Ray Clay.
Pertains to the geology of Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National parks. While providing an overview of the geology, the author also provides the reader with specific details making the experience well rounded. The content pertains to the Rocky Mountains and makes specific mention to Banff and Banff National park
Contents
Introduction
Divides
Boundaries of the parks
Origin of the mountains
The rocks
The sculpturing of the mountains
Regional differences in the mountains
Shapes of mountains
Roadlog and points of interest along the Trans-Canada Highway
Epilogue
Index
Notes
The page numbers for the following locations listed in the abstract are as follows; Banff (37), Banff National Park (vi, 4, 19, 37 and 40)
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
Read more.
Mountains and valleys: a guide to the landscape of Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park Canadian Sector: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park
Pertains to the geological history of the mountains within Waterton Lakes National Parks. Topics covered pertain to glacial erosion, glacial deposits, lakes, future glaciation, streams and the deterioration of mountains in Waterton Lakes National Park.
Pertains to the geology and mineral deposits of Northern British Columbia and West of the Rocky Mountains. Through the practice of mining, prospecting and geological exploration, we have been able to vastly increase our understanding of geological material. The publication focuses on both general geology and economic geology. Additionally, the publication offers information pertaining to the history of mining, and the ways in which it has transformed our understanding of geological material.
Contents
Preface (pg. v)
Introduction (pg. 1)
Physiography (pg. 3)
General geology (pg. 6)
Precambrain (pg. 6)
Palaeozoic (pg. 7)
Mesozoic (pg. 8)
Cenozoic (pg. 10)
Tertiary (pg. 10)
Quaternary (pg. 11)
Intrusive rocks (pg. 11)
Structural geology (pg. 13)
History of mining (pg. 14)
Economic geography (pg. 16)
Summary of economic geology (pg. 16)
Relation of metalliferous deposits to intrusions (pg. 16)
Relation of metalliferous deposits to structure (pg. 17)
Mineral deposits (pg. 18)
Placer gold (pg. 18)
Lode gold (pg. 22)
Atlin and Stikine mining dividions (pg. 22)
Cariboo mining division (pg. 23)
Omineca mining division (pg 24.)
Portland canal mining division (pg. 24)
Queen Charlotte mining division (pg. 25)
Skeena mining division (pg. 25)
Silver-lead-zinc (pg. 25)
Portland Canal area (pg. 26)
Quartz veins containing one or more of the metals, silvers, lead, and zinc (pg. 26)
Silver-barite-jasper deposits (pg. 26)
Silver-lead deposits (pg. 27)
Hazelton-Smithers area (pg. 27)
Canadian National Railway belt from Houston to Burns Laek (pg. 27)
Ingenika River (pg. 28)
Copper (pg. 28)
Mercury (pg. 29)
Tungsten (pg. 30)
Molybdenum (pg. 31)
Antimony (pg. 31)
Manganese (pg. 31)
Chromium (pg. 31)
Mica (pg. 32)
Iron (pg. 32)
Pyrite (pg. 32)
Coal (pg. 32)
Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous coal (pg. 32)
Tertiary coal (pg. 33)
Bibliography (pg. 35)
Notes
At head of title: Canada. Dept. of mines and resources. Mines and geology branch
Pertains to information regarding the geology of the Pre-Cambrian-Palaeozoic section of Southeastern B.C.. Specifically, the publication discusses the geological section at Elko, British Columbia. Some of the other topics of discussion include Phillips Formation, Elko Formation, The Jefferson Limestone and more. The publication is short and offers small glimpses of information on each formation.