Established | 2002 |
---|---|
Location | 175 Signal Hill Road St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1A 1B2 |
Type | geological interpretation centre |
Website | www.geocentre.ca/ |
The Johnson Geo Centre is a geological interpretation centre, within a small park, located on Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The museum is named for philanthropist Paul Johnson and opened in 2002.
Most of the centre is located underground, in an excavated glacial formation that shows the exposed bedrock of the hill.
The building is designed to take advantage of the geological features of Signal Hill where most of the structure is below ground exposing natural rock formations. The area was originally a peat filled area that was stripped of overburden and a glass-encased structure of 2.5 stories was built atop the excavation. The building was built through the Johnson Family Foundation at a cost of $11 million. [1] The building utilizes a heating and cooling system via six geothermal wells drilled to a depth of 500 feet.
Visitors travel a 3.7 billion year timeline, exploring themes such as continental drift, glaciation, earthquakes and volcanoes. [2]
The site also includes the outdoor Johnson GEO-VISTA Park, which shows how stone was used throughout Newfoundland and Labrador's history, including a replica of a root cellar, graveyard, and house chimney. [3]
The Museum is affiliated with: Canadian Association of Science Centres (CASC), Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
Associated with the Johnson Geo Centre there is a small park with eight looped trails, informative outdoor displays that explain the local geological formations, botanical species, and traditional uses of stone. Completed in 2007, the park surrounds the Geo Centre and includes Deadman's Pond acres Signal Hill road. Both the Geo Park's and Signal National Historic Park's trails are linked to the Grand Concourse walkway system.
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans 446.04 km2 (172.22 sq mi) and is the easternmost city in North America. The closest European settlement is Fajã Grande, Azores, Portugal, about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) away.
Gros Morne National Park is a Canadian national park and World Heritage Site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At 1,805 km2 (697 sq mi), it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada after Torngat Mountains National Park, which has an area of 9,700 km2 (3,700 sq mi).
Cape Spear is a headland located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland near St. John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At a longitude of 52°37' W, it is the easternmost point in Canada and North America, excluding Greenland.
Signal Hill is a hill which overlooks the harbour and city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The majority of Signal Hill, including Cabot Tower, is designated a National Historic Site. The highest point, Ladies' Lookout, is 167 m (548 ft) high.
Terra Nova National Park is located on the northeast coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, along several inlets of Bonavista Bay. The park takes its name from the Latin name for Newfoundland; it is also the original Portuguese name given to the region.
Grates Cove is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the most northerly community on the Avalon Peninsula, located on the tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Called "the Grates" by John Guy as early as 1612, the origin of the name is unknown.
The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened on June 29, 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Paul Jolliffe Johnson, ONL was a businessman and philanthropist born St. John's, Newfoundland, the son of Marjorie (Jolliffe) and Arthur Johnson. He was educated at Prince of Wales College, King's College, Mount Allison Academy and Mount Allison University.
The Grand Concourse is an integrated walkway and green space network connecting 10 municipalities in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has over 200 kilometers (120 mi) of walkways linking every major park, river, pond, and green space in the Northeast Avalon region. The Grand Concourse is managed by the Grand Concourse Authority, a non-profit organization with a board of directors made up of representatives from a variety of community-based and government groups.
Trout River is a small rural fishing town located on the southern coastal edge of Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, near the Tablelands. Trout River was settled in 1815 by George Crocker and his family, who were its only inhabitants until 1880. The community is served by Route 431.
The Railway Coastal Museum is a transport museum located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the historic Newfoundland Railway terminal on Water Street and contains exhibits detailing the history of the Newfoundland Railway and the history of coastal water transportation in the province.
Pippy Park is a 3,400-acre (14 km2) urban park located in the city of St. John's, Newfoundland. The park is a popular camping, hiking and recreational park within the city, and incorporates numerous groomed and wilderness-style hiking/skiing trails, a miniature golf course, a 9-hole and an 18-hole golf course, a driving range, and a public access trailer park with limited tent camping facilities. Trails within the park link to the Grand Concourse walking trails.
The East Coast Trail (ECT) is a long-distance coastal footpath located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a developed trail over 336 kilometres (209 mi) long, the creation of which began in 1994. It is made up of 25 linked wilderness paths and passes through more than 30 communities. It was named one of the best adventure destinations by National Geographic in 2012 and is extended and improved yearly.
Admiralty House is a one-storey, wooden gable-roofed, municipally-designated heritage building originally built as a wireless communications station in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It currently serves as a museum and archives. The building is purported to be the last standing of 11 such identical stations built around the world during the First World War.
Quidi Vidi Lake is a 1,600 m (1 mi) long body of water located at the east end of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Local people commonly pronounce its name as kiddy viddy.
Fort Amherst is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at 47°33′48.96″N52°40′49.60″W, on the southern side of the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's harbour. Apart from some family dwellings, Fort Amherst consists of a man-made harbour, a lighthouse and the remains of gun emplacements built during World War II to defend against German U-boats. Two QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns remain in place on their mountings.
The timeline of St. John's history shows the significant events in the history of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Fort Waldegrave was a battery or an emplacement for heavy guns in St. John’s Newfoundland, strategically overlooking the Narrows and St John’s Harbour.
Division No. 1, Subdivision G is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated communities of Baccalieu Island, Besom Cove, Bradley's Cove, Burnt Point, Caplin Cove, Daniel's Cove, Grates Cove, Gull Island, Job's Cove, Kingston, Long Beach, Lower Island Cove, Low Point, Northern Bay, Ochre Pit Cove, Red Head Cove, Riverhead, Smooth Cove and Western Bay.