Helen Belyea

Northwestern University is where Belyea earned her Ph.D. in 1939thumb Location of Leduc, Alberta, the city in which Belyea was sent to monitor the oil discovery. She was one of the two geologists sent. 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.

Personal life Belyea was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, to a family with French Huguenot origins. Her parents were 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 in her field 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 that women were capable of working in the same field as men. 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, marriage often resulted in the loss of their jobs. It is likely that as a result of this, Belyea never married. Helen Belyea established herself as an authority figure within her field of study, specifically her research and analysis of the Devonian geologic system in Western Canada.

Belyea formally retired in 1975 after 35 years of contribution to the Geological Survey of Canada. However, her study of geology didn't end with her retirement as she continued working with the Institute of Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology.

Research and career After her release from Naval Service in 1945 the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) hired Belyea to become a technologist. In 1947, Belyea was promoted to the position of geologist. Her career within the GSC originated in Ottawa however, in 1950 she transferred to the office in Calgary, Alberta. 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, the Geological Survey opened an office in Calgary, Belyea was then 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.