Open File Report 1981-08

Author(s) Date 1980-12-31

An evaluation of the sand and gravel resources of the Calgary area was conducted from 1978 to 1980 as a part of the sand and gravel inventory program undertaken by the Alberta Geological Survey of the Alberta Research Council and Alberta Energy and Natural Resources. The study covers an area of 16 950 km2 centered on the city of Calgary. Field investigation, including the drilling of 688 testholes, delineated 198 sand and gravel deposits of varying quality and volume. The major sources of granular material in the area are alluvial deposits of the Bow, Elbow, Highwood and Sheep Rivers, the Irricana and Carseland glaciofluvial deltaic deposits, and preglacial alluvial gravels on the uplands northwest of Calgary and south of Arrowwood. The Bow River alluvial terrace deposits, in the vicinity of Calgary, are now being exploited and are depleting rapidly. In a few years, other sources of gravel will have to satisfy the demand for aggregate in the city. Preglacial gravels on the uplands northwest of Calgary constitute the largest volume of good quality granular material that is closest to the city. Their total reserves, which are practically untouched, exceed 100 million m3. Other sand and gravel occurrences with high potential for development are located at distances of 30 to 90 km from Calgary.

NTS Keywords

Shetsen, I. (1991): Sand and gravel resources of the Calgary area, Alberta; Alberta Research Council, ARC/AGS Open File Report 1981-08, 119 p.