Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Stellarton
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We love getting questions about mining, minerals and geology! We were asked about sinkholes and whether they are a risk when walking in the woods.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton @oxfordsinkhole
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton @oxfordsinkhole
The short answer is yes, sinkholes are real but no, they are not a major risk and should not prevent you from enjoying outdoor activities.
Most natural sinkholes are caused by groundwater naturally eroding rocks like gypsum, salt and limestone which are water-soluble.
#nspoli
Most natural sinkholes are caused by groundwater naturally eroding rocks like gypsum, salt and limestone which are water-soluble.
#nspoli
The water erodes the rock, leaving an underground cavern. Eventually, the weight of the rock and earth above the cavern causes the sinkhole to form. Sinkholes can form either gradually (i.e. a small depression appears and perhaps grows larger over time) or by sudden collapse.
Congrats to #Stellarton on saving Memorial Rink!
Like so many things in Stellarton, it has a connection to mining: it was funded by coal miners to honour men from the area who died in WWI and WWII.
#nspoli #NovaScotia @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
Like so many things in Stellarton, it has a connection to mining: it was funded by coal miners to honour men from the area who died in WWI and WWII.
#nspoli #NovaScotia @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
Stellarton was founded by the General Mining Association, which had a monopoly on most #NovaScotia coal from 1827-57. The town was originally named Albion Mines but the name was changed to #Stellarton in 1870.
#nspoli @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
#nspoli @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
#Stellarton was named for a kind of soft, oily coal found in 1798 called Stellar coal, or stellarite, which, when burned, gave off sparks resembling stars.
Stellar St. was also named for the coal.
#nspoli #NovaScotia @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
Stellar St. was also named for the coal.
#nspoli #NovaScotia @TimHoustonNS @karla_macf_pc @SeanFraserMP @StellartonTown
The #Cunard name is a famous one in #NovaScotia thanks to shipping magnate Samuel Cunard who established the Cunard Line.
Read this thread to learn about his involvement in #NS' mining industry!
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
Read this thread to learn about his involvement in #NS' mining industry!
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
Samuel Cunard, born in #Halifax in 1787, established the Cunard Line, which operated the first regular Atlantic steamship service that carried mail between England and North America.
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
His shipping empire eventually included famous ships such as the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth and still operates today as a cruise line.
But Cunard had other business interests, including mining.
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
But Cunard had other business interests, including mining.
#nspoli #cbpoli #CapeBreton @cunardline @NS_Museum @ns_mma
One of the first roller coasters was built to haul #coal, not people!
The Mauch Chunk Switchback gravity #railway, built in 1827, hauled Pennsylvania coal in the am and customers paying 75¢ in the pm. It went as fast as 50 miles/hour. Mules pulled it back to the top.
#nspoli
The Mauch Chunk Switchback gravity #railway, built in 1827, hauled Pennsylvania coal in the am and customers paying 75¢ in the pm. It went as fast as 50 miles/hour. Mules pulled it back to the top.
#nspoli
The Mauch Chunk Switchback railway became a significant tourist attraction. At its peak in 1873 it carried over 30,000 passengers.
#nspoli #cbpoli
#nspoli #cbpoli
#NovaScotia's first railways were built to haul coal: the Albion Mines Railway was built in 1839 to haul coal from the #Stellarton mines to docks in #Pictou Harbour.
They weren't roller coasters but rails also carried many NS miners in and out of historical mines.
#nspoli #cbpoli
They weren't roller coasters but rails also carried many NS miners in and out of historical mines.
#nspoli #cbpoli
The #Pictou Coalfield played an important role in #NovaScotia’s industrial history.
Check out this history of #coal mining in Pictou!
#nspoli #cdnpoli #nshistory @ns_moi @NS_Museum
@karla_macf_pc @TimHoustonNS @SeanFraserMP
Check out this history of #coal mining in Pictou!
#nspoli #cdnpoli #nshistory @ns_moi @NS_Museum
@karla_macf_pc @TimHoustonNS @SeanFraserMP
The #Pictou Coalfield's 15 major coal seams in the #Westville, #Stellarton, and #Thorburn-Greenwood areas hosted many mines that created jobs and provided fuel for #NovaScotians.
#nspoli #cdnpoli #NovaScotia
#nspoli #cdnpoli #NovaScotia
Mining is part of #NovaScotia’s heritage and many communities benefit from tourism attractions related to historical mining. In fact, this 1889 flyer advertised #gold mines near #Caledonia, #QueensCounty, as tourist attractions to people from Boston!
#nspoli @RegionofQueens #NS
#nspoli @RegionofQueens #NS
It says, “Many tourists will find a profitable and interesting diversion in visiting the various gold mines within easy reach of their boarding places.”
#nspoli #novascotia #gold
#nspoli #novascotia #gold
It describes gold processing as “curious and interesting, and well repays an intelligent sight-seer for a few days of travel and observation.”
#nspoli #novascotia #gold
#nspoli #novascotia #gold
Check out this thread for the history of the General Mining Association and how it built #NS' coal industry!
In 1826, King George IV granted his brother, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, all mineral rights in Nova Scotia that had not previously been granted.
#nspoli #cbpoli
In 1826, King George IV granted his brother, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, all mineral rights in Nova Scotia that had not previously been granted.
#nspoli #cbpoli
These rights were, in turn, given to the General Mining Association, a company formed by Rundell, Bridge and Rundell, the Royal Goldsmiths from 1797-1843.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB
The Duke of York, who was known for his free-spending ways, was heavily indebted to RBR. He gave them the mineral rights in exchange for clearing his debts and 25% of the GMA's profits.
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB
#nspoli #cbpoli #NovaScotia #capebreton #NS #CB
We love getting questions about #mining, #minerals and #geology! In response to our post yesterday about how #NovaScotia’s #gold deposits formed, we were asked about “barrel quartz.” Here’s our answer:
#nspoli #NS #CB #capebreton #Waverley @waverleyns @SteveStreatch @Bill_Horne
#nspoli #NS #CB #capebreton #Waverley @waverleyns @SteveStreatch @Bill_Horne
Barrel quartz is a term used to describe the #gold deposit on #LaidlawHill in #Waverley in the 1800s. It isn’t a technical/geological term. The miners used it to describe what they saw: folded, gold-bearing quartz veins whose outcrops are corrugated and resemble barrels.
#nspoli
#nspoli
The quartz veins that host the #gold are hard and surrounded by soft shale. When the rocks were compressed by forces resulting from tectonic plate collision, the quartz vein buckled to form barrel shapes but the surrounding shale reacted like toothpaste and absorbed the pressure.
We love getting questions about #mining, #minerals and #geology!
We were recently asked about historical #coal mining in #Thorburn, #NovaScotia. Here’s our answer:
#nspoli #NS #Pictou #PictouCounty @ns_moi @NS_Museum
We were recently asked about historical #coal mining in #Thorburn, #NovaScotia. Here’s our answer:
#nspoli #NS #Pictou #PictouCounty @ns_moi @NS_Museum
@ns_moi @NS_Museum The #Pictou coalfield is roughly 18x6 km and comprises 15 major coal seams in the #Westville, #Stellarton, and #Thorburn-Greenwood areas. Although small, the coalfield has produced about 55 million tonnes in the last two centuries.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS
@ns_moi @NS_Museum #Coal was discovered in the #Pictou coalfield around 1790 by Scottish settlers. The first substantive #mining operation was Collier John MacKay’s mine, sunk in 1809 on the west side of #EastRiver.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS
Many #NovaScotia #mines/#quarries in the 1800s used tramways (horse-drawn wagons on rails) to transport rock. They were ancestors to our first railways because they showed the advantage of steel rails (instead of wood) and gave a platform for early locomotive experiments.
#nspoli
#nspoli
#NovaScotia's first railway (meaning it was powered by steam, not horses) was the Albion Mines Railway in Stellarton, built in 1839 to haul coal from the #Stellarton mines to docks in #Pictou Harbour. It was only the second steam railway in Canada. It operated until 1961.
#nspoli
#nspoli
Samson, the oldest locomotive in Canada, was 1 of the iron horses imported from England in 1839 to haul Albion Mines trains. Retired in 1883, it was displayed at Chicago's World Fair, in Baltimore, #Halifax and #NewGlasgow. Today it's at the Stellarton Museum of Industry.
#nspoli
#nspoli
