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Geoscience Canada

Geology of the Manitoba Legislative Building Jeff Young and Graham Young

Volume 39, Number 4, 2012

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/geocan39_4fs04

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Publisher(s) The Geological Association of Canada

ISSN 0315-0941 (print) 1911-4850 (digital)

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Cite this document Young, J. & Young, G. (2012). Geology of the Manitoba Legislative Building. Geoscience Canada, 39(4), 180–180.

All rights reserved © The Geological Association of Canada, 2012 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/

This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ 180 GAC–MAC 2013: FIELD GUIDE SUMMARY Geology of the Manitoba Legislative Building

GAC–MAC Winnipeg 2013, syn-meeting field trip

Jeff Young1 and Graham Young2

1Department of Geological Sciences University of Manitoba Figure 1. The Manitoba Legislative Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3T 2N2 Building viewed from the north. E-mail: [email protected]

2The Manitoba Museum 190 Rupert Avenue Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3B 0N2

FIELD TRIP OBJECTIVES The Manitoba Legislative Building (Fig. 1) is a grand neoclassical structure located near the banks of the Assiniboine River in central Winnipeg. It rests on glacial Lake Agassiz clays, Figure 2. The Grand Staircase of Figure 3. Statuary of Bedford lime- but its mass is supported by caissons Botticino marble is surrounded by walls stone sits on a pedestal of Tyndall that extend down to bedrock. Brick and pedestals of Tyndall Stone. Red Stone at the east entranceway. The bearing walls are supported by a steel and black marbles make up the floor. stairs are made of Butler granite. structure that rests on the caissons. Construction started in 1913 but was hampered by World War I, financial from the northern Italy is well exposed OTHER INFORMATION problems and problems with defective on the grand staircase (Fig. 2), and an This half-day field trip is designed for caissons. The Legislative Building was Ordovician black marble adorns the the non-specialist. Emphasis will be officially opened in 1920, and provides walls of the legislative chamber. The placed on the engineering geology of a unique case history into the geologic steps to the entranceways are underlain the building and the geologic processes controls on foundation design. by Neoarchean Butler granite from recorded in the different types of Dimension stones from select- northwestern Ontario (Fig. 3). dimension stone. The Legislative ed localities across North America and This trip will focus on the Building is a short distance from the Europe decorate the bearing walls, unique geological characteristics of the Winnipeg Convention Centre where floors and stairways of the Legislative several types of dimension stone, the the conference is being held. We will Building. The building offers some of processes recorded in their formation, depart from the main entrance of the the best exposures of Manitoba and the paleoenvironmental conditions Convention Centre and walk to the Ordovician Tyndall Stone including under which the rocks formed. We will Legislative Building. Most of the field classic burrow mottling and macrofos- also discuss the history of the building, trip will be touring inside the building, sils. Early Paleozoic Appalachian mar- its construction and foundation condi- but we will spend some time outside. bles, from Tennessee to Quebec, are tions. The time spent outside will be depend- represented on hallway floors, steps, ent on weather. risers and landings. Botticino marble