Waypoints for use with Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours,
instructions for preparing Ben's rock-testing acid,
and updates and corrections to the book
Feel free to download the information below.
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Waypoints
These are the latest waypoints, with all corrections and updates included. One of the files also includes the tracks I recorded on my GPS unit as I followed the various highways. These tracks are generally truer than the highway alignments given on the current federally issued topographic maps.
You have four choices in downloading the waypoints --
Choice number one: GDB file
If you have Garmin's "MapSource" program on your computer, and a MapSource-compatible GPS receiver with download capability, click here.
When asked, choose to open the file in the folder. Double-click the file. MapSource should begin to run, and the waypoints and tracks should be displayed. Connect your receiver and download the waypoints and tracks to it by clicking on the program's download icon and following the directions. Save the file before closing MapSource, in case you want to use it again.
Some of Garmin's automotive GPS units can receive waypoints as "POI"s, meaning "points of interest." Garmin provides a program called "POI Loader" for converting GDP files to POI data and loading it into the auto unit. Information at www.garmin.com. (Click on Support, Updates & Downloads, and Mapping Programs to locate the free download.)
Choice number two: GPX file
If you have some other GPS program on your computer, and it cannot open the GDB file above, click here.
When asked, choose to open the file in the folder. This format is GPX, used for the exchange of GPS data among various programs. GPX files can include tracks, but the file I have provided here does not, because tracks may cause problems on devices that do not use MapSource. If your program can open this file, you may be able to download it to your GPS receiver. If this works, save the file before closing the program, in case you want to use it again.
Choice number three: conversion with GPSBabel or PoiEdit
If your GPS program will not read the GDB or GPX files, you may wish to visit www.gpsbabel.org and purchase a copy of GPSBabel. This inexpensive shareware program, which I have not tried but which has been widely acclaimed, is able to convert many GPS data formats to one another.
Those of you with TomTom automotive GPS units might like to try downloading the shareware program PoiEdit, available at www.poiedit.com, which can convert GPX files to the OV2 files that many TomTom receivers use. For your convenience, I have done this conversion for the latest waypoints. Download it by clicking here.
Regardless of the conversion program you use, download and save the two previously listed waypoint files. Then try opening them in GPSBabel, PoiEdit or another conversion program and saving them in a format your GPS unit can use.
Choice number four: manually enter waypoint coordinates from a TXT (text) file
If none of the methods above works, you still have one more choice. Click here.
After opening the file, save it to your computer. This is a TXT file, plain text. If you are running Windows, double-clicking on the file will open it in the Notepad program. The latitude/longitude coordinates of each waypoint will be displayed, along with a lot of other info. See if your GPS program -- or the receiver itself -- will allow you to manually enter the waypoint number and its lat/long coordinates -- all you need. If so, you can manually enter the waypoints/POIs along any particular of the tours in the book.
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Rock-testing acid
To download my instructions for mixing up a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid for testing rock to see whether it contains calcite or dolomite, click here.
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Corrections and updates
In December 2009, the second printing of Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours became available, incorporating corrections to the first printing (2008). Still, some errors and unclear statements sneaked through into the new printing. You may wish to pencil in the following updates:
Page 155, with thanks to Ray Price, of Queen's University. Re the dykes, Ray doubts that these are actually made of carbonatite, but he is unsure of the exact rock type. Can anyone help nail this down? If you are that person, please e-mail me at bengadd@telus.net.
Also on this page, in the same paragraph as the one about the dykes, the phrase "on the trailing edge of the moving continent" is technically correct -- the motion of the continent was relatively eastward (southeastward at the time, when the continent was turned about 90 degrees clockwise from its present orientation), so the western edge was the trailing edge -- but the edge was at a subduction zone (see the footnote on page 73), which was more of a leading-edge, active-margin situation than a trailing-edge, passive-margin situation.
Page 257, end of the second paragraph. Ray Price has pointed out that big normal faults are not "unknown in the eastern front ranges," at least not south of the Bow River. The Erickson Fault, found along Hwy 3 at waypoint CP 29, is such a fault, and it is found only 12.7 km west of the mountain front, definitely in the eastern front ranges. I should have used "uncommon" (as I did on page 262) instead of "unknown."
Page 258, fourth paragraph. Referring to Montania as "an island" may give the wrong impression. Ray Price points out that this region of emergent land reached at least as far west as Chewelah, in northeastern Washington. The boundaries of Montania have not been precisely determined. This landmass may have been part of the ancient North American craton.
Page 259, the annotation on the photo is not correct. I was fooled! What looked obvious -- the boundary between the Palliser Formation and the Exshaw Formation, and the boundary between the Exshaw Formation and the Banff Formation -- is not. The photo below shows the true relations. A small fault runs through the rock. (In the book, this fault passes between the words "Palliser" and "limestone.") On the right side of that fault, the Exshaw has been dropped down a couple of metres. By chance, the top of the Exshaw lines up pretty closely with the top of the Palliser. So what I had marked as the top of the Palliser was, on the right side of the fault, actually the top of the Exshaw. Everything from there rightward is in the Banff Formation. Also, the Exshaw is quite thin here -- only a couple of metres, thinner than I thought -- so the whole unit can be seen lying atop the Palliser in the lower left corner of the photo. Again, my thanks to Ray Price, who knows this cut well and caught the error.
Page 307, with thanks to Graeme Pole for spotting this error and the one on page 310. In the photo, the elevation given for the SE summit of the Kaufmann Peaks is incorrect. It should be 3109 m. (3094 m is the summit elevation of the NE peak, mostly hidden behind the SE peak in this view.)
Page 310. In the third paragraph, the elevations of both Kaufmann Peaks are given incorrectly. The left (SE summit, officially "Kaufmann Peaks, South") should be 3109 m. The right (NE summit, officially "Kaufmann Peaks, North") should be 3094 m. The elevations are shown correctly in the top photo on page 311.
Finally, please note that some of the publisher information for Canadian Rockies Geology Road Tours has changed. New mailing address and phone number:
Verdant Pass Ltd.
Box 8127
Canmore, AB T0E 1E0
780-852-7728
E-mail address is the same: bengadd@telus.net
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Happy geologizing!
--- Ben Gadd