Information Circular 1988-6

British Columbia Dimension Stone

by G.V. White and Z.D. Hora

View Information Circular 1988-6 (PDF, 7.3 MB)

Dimension stone is natural rock which has been quarried and shaped to meet specific requirements. The quarried stone may be finished in a number of ways including: ground polished, honed, bossaged, bush hammered, tooled, crenelated, flamed, denteled, polished and/or scab texture. The measures of these terms are given in the glossary at the end of the booklet.

Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks are used as dimension stone. Typically though, the most common types include granite, marble, limestone, sandstone and slate. Semi-precious varieties include jade and rhodonite.

At the turn of the century, British Columbia produced a wide variety of quality dimension stone for both domestic and foreign markets. The industry flourished until the 1930s when many of the producing quarries closed. Today, most dimension stone used in the Province is imported and only minor amounts are supplied from local sources. This publication is designed to increase the awareness of natural stone available in British Columbia and promote significant sources of aesthetically attractive dimension stone with good physical properties and excellent development potential.

This project was funded under the Canada/British Columbia Mineral Development Agreement, a 5-year joint federal/provincial $10 million program to enhance and diversify the British Columbia mineral industry.