Fossils of the Tyndall Stone (Ordovician Age), a common ornamental building stone in Canada.
Introduction Tyndall Stone is the name given to the distinctive mottled stone used in the construction or facing of many major buildings in Canada. The Houses of Parliament in Ottawa and the Legislative Buildings in Winnipeg (Manitoba), Regina (Saskatchewan) and Edmonton (Alberta) are prime examples. The material when fresh is light grey with darker grey to brown mottles and it weathers over time to a pleasant creamy yellow or gold colour with rust coloured mottles. Fossils are always present in Tyndall Stone but the facing stone and patio slabs of the T. C. Douglas Building at 3475 Albert Street, Regina show fossils in particular abundance. The images on the following pages are from this source unless otherwise stated. (Anyone who wishes to contribute further images to the website please contact the author doug@mediacooks.com)
The Tyndall Stone is quarried in Manitoba and takes its name from the town of Tyndall, 30 km northeast of Winnipeg. In geological terms it is a dolomitic limestone and comes from the Selkirk Member of the Red River Formation. It is Late Ordovician in age and was formed from sediments laid down in a shallow tropical sea approximately 445 million years ago.
|