Tyndall stone

Tyndall Stone is a registered trademark name by Gillis Quarries Ltd. Tyndall Stone is a dolomitic limestone that is quarried from the Selkirk Member of the Ordovician Red River Formation in the vicinity of Garson and Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada. It is a cream-coloured limestone with a pervasive mottling of darker dolomite. The mottling gives the rock a tapestry-like effect, and it is popular for use as a building and ornamental stone.[1][2][3]

This carved Tyndall Stone crest on the University of Saskatchewan campus shows the stone's characteristic mottling.
Fossil Receptaculites and Thalassinoides in Tyndall Stone.

Tyndall Stone is highly fossiliferous and the fossils contribute to its aesthetic appeal. It contains numerous fossil gastropods, brachiopods, cephalopods, trilobites, corals, stromatoporoids, and others. The mottling results from burrowing by marine creatures that occurred during and shortly after limestone deposition.[4] The identity of the burrowing organisms is not known, but fossil burrows of this type have been given the name Thalassinoides.[2]

Tyndall Stone was first used in 1832 for building Lower Fort Garry, and has since become popular for building purposes throughout Canada and the United States. The Canadian Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario, the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the Federal Public Building in Edmonton, Alberta, the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, les Apartements Le Chateau in Montreal, Quebec[5] and many others include Tyndall Stone in their construction.[6][7]

The Tyndall Stone quarry is operated by Gillis Quarries Ltd. and is located approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The quarry has been in operation, and owned by the same family, since 1910.[7]

Cultural reference

Author Carol Shields described Tyndall Stone in her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Stone Diaries.[2]

References
  1. Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN 0-920230-23-7.
  2. Geological Survey of Canada. "Past lives: Chronicles of Canadian Paleontology, Tyndall Stone". Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. Hamilton, W.N. and Edwards, W.A.D. 2002. "Industrial minerals in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. In: Scott, P.W. and Bristow, C.M. (eds.), Industrial Minerals and Extractive Industry Geology, Based on Papers Presented at the Combined 36th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals and 11th Extractive Industry Geology Conference, Bath, England, 7th–12th May, 2000; Geological Society of London Special Publication, 2002, p. 103-141;". ISBN 978-1-86239-099-7.
  4. Kendall, A.C. 1977. Origin of dolomite mottling in Ordovician limestones from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, vol. 25, p. 480-504.
  6. Manitoba Industry, Economic Development and Mines. "Industrial Minerals, Commodity Summary: Tyndall Stone". Government of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 11 December 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Gillis Quarries Limited. "History". Retrieved 15 July 2016.
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