Vernon  

 Sundial: 933
State/Province:  British Columbia Country:  Canada
Dial Type:  Analemmatic Dial Condition:  Good
  Latitude and Longitude: 50° 14.450' N  119° 17.331' W
Location:
  • Allan Brooks Nature Centre just outside Vernon. Follow Mission Road to Allan Brooks Way,~3 km out of Vernon.The dial is 100m north of the Centre. There is a footpath that starts at the car park and loops the Centre back to the car park. Follow this path to the dial. Admission for entrance to the main building. Variable summer hours and closed in winter. During damp weather, the dial is protected by a tarpaulin. Ask Centre staff for assistance if you wish to view the dial on a wet day.
 
Description:
  • This is a standard outdoor analemmatic dial located on a hillside allowing all-day illumination and providing good views of Vernon and the surrounding area. The layout was designed by James Kanester. Rather than acting as a "Human Sundial" this analemmatic uses a movable vertical pole that sits in a slot in the declination scale. A central figure-8 analemma curve provides an indication by date where to place the gnomon in the slotted meridian grove. The declination scale, designed and constructed by Joel Wrinch, is wooden with engraved lettering and analemma. The dial's hour marks are concrete posts, topped by glass mosaics made by local artist Connie Vetter-Johnson. Only whole hours are marked. Dial furniture includes a larger glass mosaic image of a hawk. The dial's major axis is about 22 feet, the declination scale is about 6 feet long, the hour markers are 12 inches in diameter. The hawk mosaic is about 18 inches in diameter.

    The bright colors of the mosaics and the solid wooden structure contrast with the small plants and pebbles that fill the area of the dial face. The result is a simple yet pleasing dial, well suited to the location. While the dial has a central figure-8 analemma, it correctly uses a straight slot for the gnomon movement. Dates are marked on the analemma but there is no indication of the date's time variability using the Equation of Time. The Centre's published information and website implies that the dial shows mean time directly, which it does not. The analemmatic dial has hours laid out in a characteristic ellipse is the projection of the equatorial circle onto the ground, rather than relating to the Earth's elliptical orbit as suggested by the Centre's pamphlet wording.
 
General Information:
  • Owner: Allan Brooks Nature Centre
  • Designer: Connie Vetter-Johnson, Joel Wrinch, James Kanester
  • Builder: RASC chapter members
  • Construction Date: 2018
 
Web Links:

Last Revised: 2019-07-21 21:01