Helen Belyea

Canadian geologist

Helen Reynolds Belyea, (February 11, 1913 – May 20, 1986), was a Canadian geologist best known for her research in Western Canada on the Devonian System, a geologic period of the Paleozoic era.

Belyea was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, to a family with French Huguenot origins, the daughter of William Belyea and Elizabeth McDonald. Belyea was also active in mountaineering, skiing, walking, and horseback riding. She was a member of the Calgary Continuing Arts Association, the Women's League of the Calgary Philharmonic and associate director of the Calgary Zoological Society. Belyea promoted feminism within geology as a result of her presence within the geological world. Societal norms of the 19th century confined women to the role of housewives, however Belyea's notable contributions and efforts enabled her to work in the field alongside men as equals. She became the first woman to work in the field studies, proving to everyone that women are strong enough to carry the heavy samples across coarse terrains. It is important to note that as women got accepted into jobs in the field of geology, they faced significant challenges in securing respectable positions. Notably, these women were expected to remain unmarried, in the instance that these women did get married, they would consequently lose their jobs. In this way, Helen also never married. Helen Belyea established herself as an authority within her field of study, specifically her research and understanding of the Devonian geologic system in Western Canada. After 35 years of contribution to the Geological Survey of Canada formally retired in 1975. However, her study of geology didn't end with her retirement as she continued working with the Institute of Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology.

After her release from Naval Service in 1945 the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) hired Belyea to become a technologist. Only a few years later, in 1947, she was promoted to the higher position of geologist. Her career within the GSC originated in Ottawa however, in the year 1950 she transferred to the Alberta, specifically the Calgary office. In Leduc, Belyea specifically studied the rock segments that were at the surface as a result of the oil drills. She used this information to map the geology to further predict where oil would likely be found. After the oil was struck at Leduc, Alberta, the Geological Survey opened an office in Calgary, which was when Belyea was sent to monitor the discovery. She specifically contributed on the region west of Hay River and south of the Mackenzie, She was the first woman honoured this way. She was one of two geologists sent to open a Calgary office and the only woman to do field work there. In 1976, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Fleming, Iris. "Rocks are Her Forte." Geosciences. Fall 1975, pp. 12–14. McLaren, Digby J. "Helen Belyea 1913–1986." Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Ser. 5, vol. 2. 1987, pp. 198–201. Ogilvie, Marilyn, and Harvey, Joy, editors. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000, pp. 110–111.