Book Review

 

A GUIDE TO THE GEOLOGY AND LANDFORMS OF GREY AND BRUCE COUNTIES
The Bruce-Grey Geology Committee, Owen Sound Field Naturalists, 2004
ISBN: 0-9680279-6-2

It is a book which I wish had been written twenty-five years ago!

Much of my fascination for the Bruce Trail has been the landforms of the Niagara Escarpment. I have always wondered when and how such distinctive topography was created. Much of what I have discovered has been through personal exploration and speculation. If only I had had this book, I could have saved myself so much speculation!

The Owen Sound Field Naturalists deserve a great deal of credit for their books on the natural history of the area. Many of you will be familiar with their guides to orchids, ferns, and rare and endangered species, for example.

The Geology guide is the latest contribution to this series. It is a complex mission: “to present an overview…in a format and language which will be accessible to all who are interested in this unique area, while maintaining scientific accuracy.”

The committee of authors succeeded extremely well. Many of the names will be known to Bruce Trail supporters. The organizer of the committee was Bob Gray, Area Ecologist for the Owen Sound office of the MNR. (Bob recently coordinated the summer student program that saw trail workers help out on both the Peninsula and Beaver Valley trails.) Phil Kor is best known for some of his work on the subglacial meltwater flood thesis that in the last decade has gained increasing acceptance; he gave “expert advice on all parts pf the book.” Other names with which many of you will be familiar are Daryl Cowell, Torben Hawksbridge, Victor Last, and Nels Maher. (All, by the way, were leaders at the October “Hiking Festival” hosted by the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club in Tobermory.)

The goal of the authors was to help the readers develop “an appreciation for this treasure house beneath our feet.” Because of my own special interests, I found the sections on Glaciation and Karst Landforms especially intriguing. The everyday comparisons for geological processes frequently make the point crystal clear: for example, “karst is nature’s plumbing. Just as the myriad of drains and pipes in your house serve to transport water (including, of course, its assorted contents!) as efficiently as possible to your septic system or municipal sewer, karst systemstransport surface waters via caves to their base level more efficiently than surface routes.”

I was disappointed that more reference was not made to the Bruce Trail as a way to access these geological treasures. The bibliography, for example, lists only the 16th edition (1988) for the Guide to the Bruce Trail. In over fifteen years, there have been a lot of changes! Indeed, at one point, the Trail Reference is referred to merely as the “Handbook.” Perhaps there is a market for a guidebook to the geology of the Bruce Trail which follows the route of the footpath, pointing out the geological treasures you discover as you head to Tobermory.

Among the best features of the book are the appendices. The first, for example, names a geological feature (such as an esker) and then defines for anyone with good maps or a GPS the optimum location from which to observe this form. The second lists all the Earth Science ANSI’s of the two counties and a large map identifies their location. Other plasticized maps define both the Physiography and the Bedrock Geology of the counties.

For anyone with a curiosity about the wonders of the landforms of the northern section of the Niagara Escarpment, this book deserves a place on your shelf (and possibly in your backpack.) So much of what you have wondered about will receive a coherent explanation in a language that any intelligent layman can understand. It can only increase your fascination for this marvelous and beautiful place. (cost $25.00)

... Ross McLean