What is the
Canadian Rockhound?
The Canadian
Rockhound is a free web-based geological magazine for collectors, beginners
and educators. It introduces beginners and children to the world of rocks,
minerals, fossils, gemstones and Canada's geology. The magazine also serves
as a valuable resource for professional and avocational collectors in Canada
and around the world. Here you will find over 120 online articles and various resources related to the rockhounding hobby and the earth sciences, including a club directory and a list of Canadian dealers and suppliers.
The main attraction of the magazine are the free online issues
that are published twice each year (winter, summer). These contain feature
articles on Canadian minerals, gemstones, fossils, geology, and rockhounding
in general. Most articles have been written by Canadians who are collectors
or are professionals with a background in geology.
The Canadian
Rockhound is periodically updated and expanded to include new content, and
apart from the issues you will find many other resources and interesting
content to explore.
We hope
you enjoy the Canadian Rockhound magazine. Please note that there is no subscription
and no printed edition. Feel free to browse, click and read!
A Brief History
The first
official rock and mineral clubs in Canada appeared as early as the 1930's
in Calgary and Toronto. However, mineral and fossil collecting in Canada
gained popularity only later in the 1950's. The period from 1950 to 1980
witnessed an explosion of local clubs across Canada. In those days there
was great interest in the earth sciences. It was also a time when advances
in geology were being made (acceptance of continental drift and plate tectonics
theories). Many Canadians, both young and old, joined local clubs to learn
more about the rocks, minerals and fossils. The lapidary hobby also became
popular and many clubs began offering workshops on rock polishing, gemstone
cutting and jewellery making. Monthly meetings attracted families, youth,
serious collectors and geologists. Some clubs have records documenting the
attendance of more than 100 people at monthly meetings!
The Original Magazine:
1956-1980
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Canadian Rockhound cover, April 1967 issue.
Canadian Rockhound cover, August 1969 issue.
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Some Canadians
who were active club members during this period may recall a popular magazine
called the "Canadian Rockhound." It was published for many years by the Lapidary
Rock & Mineral Society of British Columbia. Soon after its formation
in 1955, the society produced a "Quarterly Bulletin" in November 1956 to
inform its members of upcoming events and provide information about collecting
localities. Cleo Sparkes became the editor of this bulletin in February 1959,
and in May 1960 the society changed the name of the bulletin to "The Canadian
Rockhound".
The first
few issues of the Canadian Rockhound appeared in the form of a newsletter-style
booklet, which soon evolved into a true magazine with many illustrations
and a colourful attractive cover. This "original Canadian gem magazine" was
filled with many interesting articles on mineral localities, gemstones, facet
cutting, fossil hunting, and lapidary techniques. Most important the magazine
offered Canadian content. For example, an article from the February 1968
issue described some of the notable minerals and fossils found in each Canadian
province and territory.
Publication
of the original Canadian Rockhound continued throughout the 1970's until
December 1980. The high cost of publishing the magazine forced the Lapidary
Rock & Mineral Society of B.C. to discontinue it. The society reverted
to printing a provincial newsletter thereafter.
The Canadian Rockhound
and the Internet
The internet
played an important role in promoting the rockhounding hobby during the 1990's
in a way unimagined 40 years earlier. The birth of the "World Wide Web" in
1992 made it possible to publish information on the internet in a graphical
and electronic format that could be read by a worldwide audience. Internet
e-mail made it convenient for people to share information and exchange news
very quickly. By 1995 websites on the rockhounding hobby began to appear
on the web.
In January
1997, Dirk Schmid, a graduate student studying at the University of Saskatchewan
in Saskatoon started an internet magazine under the name Canadian Rockhound
– without prior knowledge of an earlier magazine by that name. The main reason
for the magazine's creation was the lack of a well-designed and useful website
with information on the earth sciences.
The goal
of the new Canadian Rockhound was to provide a high quality earth science
magazine in electronic format on the internet. The magazine originally began
publishing online issues. The first few were successful and content increased
with each new issue. Collectors from across Canada and around the world began
contributing articles to the magazine. In 1998 the magazine was expanded
to include a news and events section, a resources section and a list of Canadian
dealers and suppliers. A companion website for children, the Junior Rockhound,
was added in 1999. The magazine also maintained a club directory.
The Canadian Rockhound website was moved from Saskatoon to Winnipeg in October 1999, where it was relaunched on a new domain, www.canadianrockhound.com. In August 2003, the Canadian Rockhound was moved to www.canadianrockhound.ca.
Since
1997, the Canadian Rockhound has been visited by more than 100,000 people,
and its popularity continues to increase. Through the internet, the Canadian
Rockhound has become a valuable resource to collectors and an educational
tool for children and teachers in Canada and around the world.
Acknowledgements:
Many hours
of work and effort went into planning, designing, building and promoting
this website. The Canadian Rockhound magazine thanks the following individuals
and organizations for their special contributions and/or valuable assistance:
Awards:
Organizations:
- Calgary Rock & Lapidary Club
- Canadian Gemmological Association
- Canadian Micro Mineral Association
- Gem & Mineral Club of Scarborough
- Gem & Mineral Federation of Canada
- Lapidary Rock & Mineral Society of B.C.
- Manitoba Museum of Man & Nature
- National Library of Canada (assistance with digital archiving)
- Royal Ontario Museum
- Sudbury Rock & Lapidary Society
- Walker Mineralogical Club
Authors / Other:
The Canadian Rockhound also
thanks the following individuals for their valuable assistance and for their
regular article contributions:
Brad S. Wilson
Kingston, Ontario
Canadian gemstones
Charles Gould
Toronto, Ontario
Canadian minerals
Daniel Comtois
Montreal, Quebec
Quebec mineral localities
Dave Joyce
Newmarket, Ontario
Canadian minerals
Doug Boyce
St. John's, Newfoundland
Newfoundland fossils
Doug Miller
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Canadian and Saskatchewan minerals
Doug Wilson
Stewiacke, Nova Scotia
Canadian minerals
Dr. Edgar Pye
Toronto, Ontario
Geology and minerals
(deceased)
Gilles Poulin
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia and Canadian minerals
John Biczok
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba, Canadian and worldwide minerals
John Ratcliffe
Kamloops, British Columbia
B.C. fossil and mineral localities
Laszlo Horvath
Mont Saint-Hilaire
Malcolm Back
Toronto, Ontario
Technical help (Royal Ontario Museum)
Dr. Walter Bowser
USA, worldwide mineral safaris
(deceased)
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Marilyn Fraser
Mississauga, Ontario
Author and editorial assistance
Marilyn Laframboise
Technical help (Royal Tyrrell Museum)
Phyllis Richardson
Editor of the original Canadian Rockhound magazine
Quintin Wight
Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian minerals and micro-minerals
Randy Lord
British Columbia
B.C. jade
Richard Gunter
Manitoba minerals
Dr. Rick Hudson
Sydney, British Columbia
Author
Ron Zeilstra
Victoria, British Columbia
Canadian minerals
Ronnie Van Dommelen
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia and Canadian minerals
Sylvain Roy
Quebec minerals
Tim Jokela
London, Ontario
Ontario and Canadian minerals
Tony Forsyth
The Australian Mineral Collector
Trudy Martin
Calgary, Alberta
Willow Wight
Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Gemmological Association
Win Robertson
Vancouver, British Columbia
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Photography:
The Canadian Rockhound gratefully
acknowledges the following individuals who's photographs appear on some of
the many pages throughout the website or as part of the graphic design artwork:
Brad Wilson - gemstones
Blair and Jennifer Campbell - fossils
Chris Rylands - barite from the Rock Candy Mine
Daniel Comtois - Quebec minerals
Dean Whittaker - Hawaiian lava flows
Doug Miller - Canadian minerals
Doug Wilson - Canadian minerals
Ed and Ruth Debicki - Sudbury photos
Ed Zeschuk - Edmonton photos
Hans Schmid - Canadian Rocky Mountain landscape scenery
John Ratcliffe - fossils
John Thomas - Nunavut scenery
Marilyn Fraser - Canadian scenery and dinosaurs
Marty Lewadny - minerals
Ron Zeilstra - minerals
Ronnie Van Dommelen - Nova Scotia minerals
Stuart Milliken - tilobite fossil (Ceraurus)
Sylvain Roy - Quebec minerals
Tony Forsyth - crocoite from Australia
Trudy Martin - lapidary and jewellery
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