We live in the Ottawa valley, a lowland traversed by the Ottawa River and its tributaries, and bordered by the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield. Over geological time, this area has experienced mountain building and erosion, tropical and temperate seas, thick ice sheets, and erosion by rivers. The greater Ottawa-Gatineau area is underlain by soil, sediment, and rock that have been, and still are being, shaped by earth processes, yielding a geological landscape, or geoscape. Understanding how our geoscape works is essential to the wise use of the land.
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Ottawa-Gatineau: Urban Geology of Canada's National Capital Area Urban Geology of Canada's National Capital Area was a pilot project aiming at developing approaches, methodologies and standards that can be applied to other major urban centres of the country, while providing the geoscience knowledge required for sound regional planning and environmental protection of the National Capital Area.
