The Rockies and the Badlands: Geology and dinosaurs in Canada

23 July 2023 - 7 days for USD $4,250 - No single supplements

This tour of the majestic Rocky Mountains west of Calgary and the otherworldly Badlands to the east explores the stunning scenery and geology of southern Alberta and brings to life the history of settlements in this remote but beautiful land. Participants will visit two World Heritage Sites with world-class rock outcrops and outstanding dinosaur fossils. The expert will develop the story of rocks and life from the Devonian (420-million-years-ago) to the present, a tale that includes massive reefs, dinosaur playgrounds, evidence of the geological process that formed the Rocky Mountains and, more recently, ice sheets that covered Alberta and carved out spectacular landscapes. The human story began about 10,000 years ago as the ice sheets were melting away and people arrived to start a history of settlement.

The tour highlights how geology influenced the colonization and development of Alberta. After an introduction in Calgary, the tour explores the structural geology (the landscape, formed by the shortening and telescoping of land as the Rockies grew in pulses from 160–50 million years ago) and the stratigraphy (the layers of rocks) of the stunning Kananaskis Valley. The tour will visit the magnificent Banff and Lake Louise area, surrounded by mountains composed of uplifted limestones that originally formed in ancient warm seas. 

Alberta has a fascinating history, from a little-known fur trade war in the late 1600s and the waves of settlers that followed from many European countries to its thriving Mormon community which originally emigrated from Utah. When Alberta became a province at the turn of the 20th century, the population was under 80,000 and until the 1920s it was a place of farmers and homesteaders. The discovery of oil changed everything and Calgary (population now 1.3 million) became the oil and gas capital of Canada. 

Alongside the development of industry came the amazing finds from the age of the dinosaurs. The first discoveries were by Joseph Tyrell in 1884 and have continued since then to make Alberta one of the most renowned locations for their study in the world. The group will take in the Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller – one of the world’s best and most-celebrated dinosaur museums – and will spend a full day at Dinosaur Provincial Park, visiting areas normally off-limits to the general public.

In partnership with GeoCultura World

DAY 1: ARRIVE IN CALGARY

The tour will begin with an afternoon meeting in central Calgary, where the tour expert will discuss the itinerary and introduce the geology of Alberta. This will be followed by a visit to the Calgary Tower where the spectacular views will serve to orient the tour and discuss more of the geology ahead. In the evening a group dinner will be accompanied by a talk on the history and culture of Alberta from an eminent local historian.   

DAY 2: CALGARY TO BANFF - THE FORMATION OF THE ROCKIES AND GLACIATION

An early departure will lead to the Morley Flats Drumlin Field, a series of hills formed beneath an ice sheet and the first step on the glacial story revealed by the excursion. The group travels on to the Kananaskis Valley to view a classic feature that is a standard illustration in numerous geology books: the Lewis Thrust Fault, which has moved a slab of rock miles thick for ~80km from the west and terminates in an extremely large fold in the rock layers at Kidd Mountain's south peak. The morning continues with an examination of the Montney Formation, one of the best hydrocarbon resources in North America, exposed in a series of outcrops that include a Triassic (240-million-year-old) bone bed.

Afternoon stops include views of the striking Yamnuska Mountain showing the 505-million-year-old Eldon Formation thrust over the 80-million-year-old Belly River Formation by the McConnell Thrust, as well as exposures of the 70-million-year-old Cardium Formation with unusual sedimentary features and excellent trace fossils (a trail or burrow of an animal). A short final leg takes the tour to the overnight stop in Banff, nestled in a stunning setting amid the mountains.

DAY 3: IN AND AROUND BANFF

During the morning the tour will visit outcrops of the Pekisko Limestone, named after the Blackfoot native tribe word for “rolling hills”, and the Mazama Ash Beds, deposited around 7600 years ago by the ash fall from the volcanic eruption that created Crater Lake in Oregon, 1500 kilometers to the southwest. After lunch in Canmore, the tour will move on to view the 400-million-year-old Devonian sediments rich in amazing stromatoporoids (reef-building sponges) and take in the stunning scenery on a comfortable 2 kilometer walk at Grassi Lakes. 

After returning to Banff there will be a group meal in the evening and a chance to hear more about the story of Banff from a local historian. The town is famous not just for its astounding scenery but also for its hot springs, formed from hot water emerging from the Sulphur Mountain Thrust Fault.

DAY 4: BANFF TO DRUMHELLER

Today the tour travels along one of the most scenic highways in the world, the Icefields Parkway, on a short journey to Lake Louise. Expect fantastic views of ancient glaciers, waterfalls, rock spires and reflective lakes all set in landscapes that owe their origin to powerful ice flow processes. There will be a viewing stop at the Banff Meadows to take in the spectacular vista, which clearly reveals the astounding crustal scale faults that formed the Rockies. Late morning the tour will arrive at the hotel at Lake Louise. There will be a chance to stroll around the edge of the lake before lunch. 

In the afternoon, the tour visits Moraine Lake before a longer drive (about 3 hours) to the overnight hotel stop in Drumheller, north-east of Calgary. After settling into the hotel there is a group dinner at a renowned bar and restaurant in Wayne, an outlying part of the town and previously home to a number of coal mines. Drumheller itself has a fascinating history which, like much of western Canada, is dominated by the development of the railway network in the early 1900s. It is still the largest town by land area in Alberta, despite having a population of under 10,000 people – a result of its amalgamation with the Municipal District of Badlands No.7 in 1998.

DAY 5: DRUMHELLER - DINOSAURS, EXTINCTION AND HOODOOS 

The day will begin with an excursion to one of the world's premier dinosaur museums, the Royal Tyrell Museum, where the group will also have lunch. In the afternoon, the tour will first visit Horseshoe Canyon, where the stunning scenery has been used as backdrop for a variety of films and TV series. The exposed deposits lie just beneath the K/T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary, which marks the end of the reign of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. There will be further stops at Hoodoos, Willow Creek and East Coulee to see world-class sedimentary structures formed by the sideways migration of ancient channels (known as lateral accretion surfaces), to see evidence of ancient shorelines, some awesome giant fossil tree stumps and preserved burrows formed by bivalves in the wood (Teredolites traces). A short final journey takes the tour back to Drumheller

DAY 6: DRUMHELLER TO BROOKS - DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK

The final full day of the tour begins with a drive to the Dinosaur Provincial Park, a World Heritage Site. The group will spend the day at the Park, including having access to areas not usually open to the public, and seeing some of the best and most famous dinosaur fossils in the world. There will be some gentle hikes (around 3 kilometers) or to ensure everyone can take in the best the Park has to offer, and a full packed lunch will be provided. The itinerary will include the Hadrosaur House, home of a sub-complete dinosaur skeleton featuring skin impressions, as well as ancient river channel deposits, whose fossils tell a tragic tale of flash flooding and its impact on Cretaceous fauna. One of Alberta’s most extensive groves of cottonwoods, flanking the Red Deer River, provides a fitting backdrop. 

Supper will be at the famous steak pits (vegetarian options available) in Patricia, where everyone can cook their own meal, before the tour continues to Brooks.

DAY 7: BROOKS TO CALGARY AND TOURS END

A two-hour journey will return guests to Calgary, where participants are free to return home or to continue exploring Alberta. 

NOTE: this provisional itinerary is subject to change as specific locations and accommodations release more information regarding access for the coming year.

ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITIES

Guests who prefer not to participate in certain activities might consider these options:

DAY 2:  A half-hour helicopter overflight out of a base in Canmore. This one-of-a-kind flight amongst the peaks of the Rockies will reinforce the geological messages of the tour by providing a 3-D appreciation of the vertical relief of the individual ranges and the widespread distribution of the rock layers. Participants will need to book this activity separately.

Alternatively, participants may wish to spend the day in Banff for sightseeing, museum visits or a gondola ride to the crest of Banff’s Sulphur Mountain for alpine hikes, an interpretative centre and a three-course meal as the sun sets over the Rockies.

DAY 4:  In Drumheller there are opportunities for sightseeing, shopping for dinosaur fossils and antiques or hiking.