****January 2012 Focus - Focus Magazine

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up and pushed, vast amounts of rocky material which was then deposited selectively, based on land contour, during the melting glacial retreat. As well, material travelling down longago rivers collected in various places, while the rivers themselves moved on or chose other courses. Visit the mile-square Colwood sand deposit, or the cliffs of sand that form the current Sayward Hill and Trio Gravel Mart near Mattick’s Farm in Cordova Bay, or the enormous landlocked Butler Brothers sand and gravel pit near the intersection of Keating Cross Road and Oldfield. The meandering paths of extinct rivers Some long-ago delta A million years of glacial dripping Or, as a more authoritative, if less euphonious, online source puts it: Most of the surficial sediments in BC owe their origin to processes active during the last few million years (Quaternary). During the Late Wisconsinan (25,000-10,000 years ago), much of the province was covered by a network of coalescing ice caps, valley, trunk, piedmont and cirque glaciers collectively termed the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. At this time, changes in base level resulting from isostasy and eustasy promoted sediment erosion and deposition. Subsequent climatic warming witnessed the decay of the ice sheet through active retreat and in situ melting. Sediment trapped in the ice consequently underwent active deposition beneath and adjacent to the melting glaciers; hence, deposits associated with deglaciation tend to reflect rapid and episodic events. Want a second opinion Here’s a rhapsody from the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines Quaternary Geological Map of Greater Victoria: Quaternary deposits in Greater Victoria overlie an irregular glacially-scoured bedrock surface. The depth to bedrock can vary from zero to as much as 30 metres within the space of a city block. Pre-Vashon sediments occur principally in the central and eastern parts of Saanich Peninsula, where they are up to 60 metres thick and have commonly been sculpted into a series of north-trending drumlinoid ridges and crag-and-tail features. The Vashon till is overlain by the Capilano sediments, which were deposited at the close of the Fraser Glaciation when sea level was higher than present. The principal units of the Capilano sediments in the Victoria area are the Victoria clay and the Colwood sand and gravel. The Colwood sand and gravel is a glaciofluvial outwash and deltaic deposit that occurs at the surface over much of Colwood and Langford. The maximum known thickness of the Colwood sand and gravel is 30 metres. I’ve copied so much of this material because I’ve been dying to use “drumlinoid” in a column and also because I intend to casually drop “glaciofluvial” into my cocktail banter and use “crag and tail” as a pick-up line. (Oh, get the disapproving expression off your face. You know you’re going to name your next two kittens Isostasy and Eustasy.) But I digress. The most common use for cement is in the production of concrete. Concrete is a composite material consisting of aggregate (gravel and sand), cement, and water. When water is mixed with Portland cement, the product sets in a few hours and hardens over a period of weeks. Science can tell us how cement cements. It has nothing to say about why it chooses to, why it dedicates itself to this purpose. Portland cement—so named because its colour resembled Portland Stone—was first produced about 160 years ago in England and Germany. The first cement production in Victoria came in the early 1900s courtesy of Robert Butchart at Tod Inlet and subsequently, in 1912, from the Portland Cement Construction Company of London, managed locally by Mr. H.K.G. Bamber. Both were drawn to Victoria because of the rich deposits of limestone. In the early part of the century, Victoria was the Portland cement supplier for much of the Pacific Northwest. Water, sand, and ground-up exoskeletons. We owe a significant part of our local wealth and industrial legacy to the turbulent extremes of natural systems, and the suicidal, unplanned self-sacrifice of a zillion ooids. Ain’t nature grand I’m not suggesting you stay off the sidewalks out of respect for the departed, or trying to introduce morbidity into your future Sunday drives; but if you had any lingering doubts about the absolute connectedness of everything, or lack the grounds for a fundamentally pantheistic view of existence, consider, the next time you see the raw earth exposed: you pass, your flesh melts, your calcified bones remain. Eventually, you may live again, as a parkade. This much I promise: and unto dust you shall return, you ooid, you. Gene Miller is the founder of Open Space Arts Centre, Monday Magazine, and the Gaining Ground Sustainable Urban Development Summit. In January, free latex pillows with the purchase of an In Bed Organic Latex Mattress. Also: 20% off dhurri rugs from $69. Hearth ECO Home 2348 Beacon Ave, Sidney • 778-426-2762 www.HearthEcoDesign.ca Charming, hand-carved wooden "spirit houses" from Thailand bring magic and whimsy to your home. Browse a large selection of these intricate miniature dwellings. Best of Both Worlds Imports 2713 Quadra Street • 250-386-8325 42 January 2012 • FOCUS
It’s a BBQ, an oven, a smoker and a stove. The award winning COBB weighs just 4 KG, runs on a handful of briquettes and can be used anywhere. Best of Both Worlds Imports 2713 Quadra Street • 250-386-8325 www.bestofbothworldsimports.com Luggage Rack Custom closets and organizing accessories. All Organized Storage Ltd 3370 Tennyson Avenue (near UpTown) Showroom hours: Tues–Fri, 10–5; Sat 10–3 pm www.AllOrganizedStorage.ca • 250-590-6328 Come and have a look at our extensive selection of furniture, home décor, and garden items. Design Source Warehouse 553 Hillside Ave • 721-5530 www.designsourcewarehouse.com great finds for your home Radiant Health Sauna with CarbonFlow heating—the latest far-infrared technology from Japan—at a price lower than most competitors. Low monthly payments OAC Triangle Healing Products 770 Spruce Avenue • 250-370-1818 www.focusonline.ca • January 2012 For a kitchen—or entertainment centre—to suit your dreams, budget, and space, talk with Sven Grosse. CDF Woodworks 250-884-3211 www.kitchenwoodworks.com glo (Green Living Organics) chunky cable knit throw with ribbed borders adds warmth to any bed or armchair. 50" x 60". Assorted colours. The Good Planet Company 764 Fort Street • 250-590-3500 www.goodplanet.com 43
Page 1 and 2: FOCUS Victoria’s monthly magazine
Page 3 and 4: contents January 2012 VOL. 24 NO. 3
Page 5 and 6: Focus presents: Iyengar Yoga ADVERT
Page 7 and 8: Focus presents: All Organized Stora
Page 9 and 10: “ I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE LRT PR
Page 11 and 12: ourhood through a restaurant servin
Page 13 and 14: Focus presents: Joseph Barry Martin
Page 15 and 16: share of multi-storey housing would
Page 17 and 18: Allow Yourself to Fully Bloom with
Page 19 and 20: Focus presents: Triangle Healing AD
Page 21 and 22: January 18-February 4 THE DROWSY CH
Page 23 and 24: Coastal Celebration January 7 - 28
Page 25 and 26: HARVEST by Ken Cameron January 25 V
Page 27 and 28: “Pots of Flowers” Sylvia Armeni
Page 29 and 30: Throughout January WILDLIFE PHOTOGR
Page 31 and 32: Focus presents: Nirvana Pet Resort
Page 33 and 34: National Chief Ah-in-chut Atleo was
Page 35 and 36: www.focusonline.ca • January 2012
Page 37 and 38: Focus presents: Sterling Financial
Page 39 and 40: “ I DON’T BELIEVE IN THE MAXIM
Page 41: Focus presents: Victoria Hospice AD
Page 45 and 46: Focus presents: Stephen Whipp ADVER
Page 47: Leading edge dentistry Down to Eart

****January 2012 Focus - Focus Magazine

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