Ottawa's subsurface is dominated by the Champlain Sea deposits—sensitive Leda clay that can lose strength dramatically when disturbed. A 2021 landslide near Rockcliffe Park demonstrated just how critical direct visual inspection of these soils becomes before any excavation or foundation work. Exploratory test pits provide that unfiltered window into the stratigraphy, allowing our field geologists to log the contact between the weathered crust and intact marine clay with precision that boreholes alone cannot match. In neighborhoods like Sandy Hill, where century-old infrastructure sits directly on this problematic formation, we combine test pit observations with in-situ permeability measurements to verify drainage behavior that governs slope stability. The City of Ottawa's geotechnical review process for building permits frequently requires this level of direct assessment, especially within the designated sensitive marine clay zone mapped by the Geological Survey of Canada.
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