Layers of meaning: Francine McCarthy on the Anthropocene

The geology professor is a key mover and shaker in what is possibly the biggest geological announcement of our generation, with Ontario’s tiny Crawford Lake being chosen as the global ground zero Earth's most recent geological time period

  • Dec 13, 2023
  • 2,933 words
  • 12 minutes
Although Crawford Lake looks like an average lake, geologist Francine McCarthy knows the mud at its bottom holds the secrets of Earth’s history. (Photo: Colin Boyd Shafer)

Are you passionate about Canadian geography?

You can support Canadian Geographic in 3 ways:

Donate Subscribe Shop

anthropocene Crawford Lake geology

This story is from the November/December 2023 Issue

Look Inside Subscribe

Related Content

Science & Tech

The Anthropocene is here — and tiny Crawford Lake has been chosen as the global ground zero

Hidden beneath the surface of this Ontario lake is an archive of the earth’s history sealed in mud

  • 1574 words
  • 7 minutes

People & Culture

In search of promised lands

Uprooted repeatedly by development projects, the Oujé-Bougoumou Cree wandered boreal Quebec for 70 years before finding a permanent home. For some, the journey continues.