magazine / ja10
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July/August 2010 issue |
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| (Photo: Bernard Clark) |
AWARDS
Mountain of knowledge
It is a true testament to Raymond Price’s contributions to the study of mountains that in 2004,
geologists from 16 countries gathered at a symposium of The Geological Society of America to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the publication of his first article, simply titled “Whence the Mountains?” The geologists presented
56 papers on various aspects of structural geology and tectonics that had been influenced ’s research.
Since he posed that question as an undergraduate student in 1954, Price, a professor emeritus of geology
at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., has devoted a large part of his career to determining how mountains
form, particularly in the southern Canadian Cordillera. “He fundamentally changed our understanding of how
those mountain chains were created,” says David Boerner, a director general at the
Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in Ottawa.
For his groundbreaking research on the tectonic evolution of the Canadian
Cordillera, Price has been awarded the 2010 Massey
Medal. Inaugurated by Governor General Vincent Massey in 1959 and administered by The Royal Canadian
Geographical Society, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in Canadian
geography.
A native of Winnipeg, Price had never seen a mountain until he landed a summer job
with the GSC in 1952, while attending the University of Manitoba. “By luck, it took me to the Purcell Mountains
in southeastern British Columbia,” he recalls. “I was immediately amazed by the mountains and how they possibly
got to be what they are.”
He spent a few summers mapping the geology of mountains, which “consisted of walking up the side of a
mountain, several thousand feet up, and coming down again, and recording all the rocks that were encountered
going up and coming down.” That exacting training undoubtedly contributed, years later, to his most important
scientific discovery: the geophysical process that left a detailed record of the evolution
of the Rocky Mountains preserved in the sediments of the foreland basin (a depression that developed adjacent
to the mountain belt) while it was forming.
Throughout his career, Price has alternated between positions at the GSC and at Queen’s
University. He rose to the rank of assistant deputy minister in the Department of Energy,
Mines and Resources in 1987. In both spheres, he has been an advocate of integrating different
disciplines to help resolve important societal issues, such as the disposal of Canada’s nuclear
waste. He played a leading role in establishing Lithoprobe, a multidisciplinary program to examine the composition,
geometry and evolution of the North American continent. He was also instrumental in securing Canada’s membership in
the Ocean Drilling Program to study the ocean floor, described as “the great unknown frontier.”
— Monique Roy-Sole
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MAGAZINE
Golden accolades
Canadian Geographic won the prestigious Magazine of the Year award (for magazines with a circulation of
more than 150,000) at a gala in Toronto in June. The award was presented by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors at
the annual MagNet conference.
The distinction caps a string of awards recently received by the magazine
and its website. At the National Magazine Awards, also held in Toronto in June, Canadian
Geographic’s website garnered two golds: one for the Canadian Geographic Photo Club in the Best Community Feature
category and one for “Return of the ferret” (December 2009) in the Best Cross-Platform Package category.
This is the first year that online categories have been included in the National Magazine Awards.
Brian Payton, John E. Marriott and CG staff won a silver in the Words & Pictures category for “The wild life” (December 2009).
The magazine also received five honourable mentions: “Territory of unrequited dreams” (Jan/Feb 2009) in the Words & Pictures and the
Politics & Public Interest categories; “Wild life” (December 2009) in the Best Single Issue and the Editorial Package categories;
and “Return of the ferret” (December 2009) in Science, Technology & the
Environment.
The December 2009 issue of Canadian Geographic, which sold the most newsstand copies in the magazine’s
history, also won an Award for Circulation Excellence from the Circulation Management Association of Canada in June.
At the 2009 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards presented in May, Canadian Geographic
Travel scored a quadruple win. Robin and Arlene Karpan garnered first place for Landscape, Seascape photography
for “Sandland” (Spring 2009). Lisa Gregoire also won first place for Budget Travel for her article “Hut spot”
(Winter 2008-2009).
Writers Douglas Hunter, Patricia Pearson, Dawn Calleja and Patricia D’Souza received an award of merit
for their volunteer-vacation features (Summer 2009) in the Travel Series category for publications with a circulation
of less than 250,000. Lastly, the Winter 2008-2009
issue captured an award of merit in the Travel Magazine category, second to National
Geographic Traveler.
In another feat of recognition, Kingston-based writer Alec Ross won the Ottawa Tourism Travel Writing Award
for “A capital idea” (Fall 2009), recounting his family’s
autumn excursion to Ottawa.
— Sara Caverley
CHALLENGE
Fifth time’s a charm
Alejandro Torres-Lopez
(Photo courtesy Carolina Torres)
After competing in the Geography Challenge for five years in a row, Alejandro Torres-Lopez (right) of North Vancouver won the national final in May. The 15-year-old Handsworth Secondary School student competed against 34 other finalists from across the country in the online competition organized by the Canadian Council for Geographic Education.
“I was really excited that in my last year of competing, I had a good finish,” he says.
Torres-Lopez, whose father is from Argentina and whose mother is from Portugal, has travelled to 20 different countries, which he says is the reason he enjoys learning about culture and geography.
“I like knowing which countries have the biggest rivers, the biggest mountains, the biggest cities,” he says. “The Challenge was a wonderful experience, and I learned so much.”
Fourteen-year-old Yujia Zhu of Montréal took second place and is the first female to finish in the top three in the 16-year history of the competition. Alexander Cohen, 14, of Ottawa answered two rounds of questions perfectly to break a tie and claim third place for the second consecutive
year.
— Jessica Bell
EDUCATION
Biodiversity on tour
Canadian Geographic is compiling a series of interactive games
on biodiversity for the Canada Pavilion, a federal government
exhibition that travels across the country to fairs and other public
events to inform Canadians about its programs and services.
Aimed at people of all ages, the games will contribute to the
pavilion’s theme commemorating 2010 as the International Year
of Biodiversity. Included among the games that will be available
for play on touch-screen pods throughout the exhibition are a
biodiversity quiz, a puzzle game and a map connecting official
symbols (flags, birds and flowers) to the provinces and territories.
— Jessica Bell
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