Amherst Spotted

Nine Geologically Significant Places Along side the Glooscap Trail in Nova Scotia

While the huge Fundy tides wear away the towering ocean cliffs and wash the shores several fascinating rocks, fossils, zeolites, and semi-precious stones are exposed. Having a unique geology dating back hundreds of millions of years the Bay of Fundy is paradise for geologists.

The Glooscap Trail, named after the native god who’s believed to have developed Fundy’s tremendous tides, runs along side the Fundy shoreline between the provincial border towards Amherst and Windsor.

1. Milford – Low oval to dome-shaped hills, known as Drumlins, are made from sediment leveled and formed by glaciers throughout the last 100,000 years in Nova Scotia. Drumlins make wonderful farmlands. As well as the Milford and Shubenacadie areas of Nova Scotia, Halifax’s Castle Hill and the islands in Mahone Bay are good examples of drumlins.

2. Noel Shore – Firmly folded Carboniferous sandstones and mudstones overlain by barely angled red Triassic sandstones and conglomerates are found along the Noel Shore. The line between these two sorts of rocks, known as an unconformity, can be seen at Stormy Cove, near Pembroke. This unconformity signifies an opening of over 100 million years that is missing from these rocks.

3. Burntcoat Head – Found along the southern shore of the Minas Basin, Burntcoat Head is officially home to the highest tides ever recorded. On October 5, 1869 the most significant difference between low and high tide measured 54ft or 16.5m at Burntcoat Head.

Burntcoat Head is also a great location to view red Triassic sandstones and conglomerates, some of which display unique cross bedding made by currents of the rivers that once flowed through this area.

4. Truro-Victoria Park – Victoria Park’s Lepper Brook cuts thru Carboniferous sandstones built up in ancient brooks.

5. Five Islands – Mi’kmaw legend claims the native god Glooscap created these 5 islands – Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg and Apex – when he threw pieces of sod at Beaver. Signs across the park provide visitors with information about the region’s geology and it is straightforward to spend the hours of low tide beachcombing. Sea dramatic cliffs with Jurassic lava flows covering primarily red Triassic sedimentary rocks, Jurassic sandstones and mudstones and a white layer that shows the border between the Triassic and Jurassic ages – marking one of Earth’s great extinction events.

6. Parrsboro – The biggest community along the north shore of the Minas Basin, Parrsboro is a superb place to witness the incredible power of the Fundy tides. These tides, the highest in the world, sculpt the coastline daily uncovering fossils, zeolites and semi-precious stones.

Canada’s oldest dinosaur skeletons have been discovered in Jurassic sedimentary rocks near Parrsboro at Wasson Bluff. Rocks in this area are usually composed of complexly faulted and angled Jurassic sediments and volcanics, making it difficult for the average beachcomber to see the fossils here.

Minerals like green celadonite, stilbite and chabazite may also be found through this region. In addition, astounding perspectives can be enjoyed from the impressive basalt cliffs at Cape d’Or, near Advocate Harbor.

7. Port Greville – 2 little continental pieces collided and slid against each other approximately 390 million years ago to create what’s now the Province of Nova Scotia. The boundary, called the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault System, like California’s San Andreas Fault, is an important feature of geological and topographical maps of Nova Scotia. Where the Fundy lowlands meet the Cobequid Highlands, just north of Parrsboro at Crossroads, is a good place to view this fault.

8. Cape Chignecto – Made up of 600-foot towering cliffs, 18 kilometres of pristine shore, steep ravines and old-growth forests, Cape Chignecto Provincial Park is found on the Western end of the Avalon Eco-Zone along the Bay of Fundy. Not only is the park an excellent spot to look at the tides, as they continuously lap at the base of the cliffs, Cape Chignecto is home to a few of the province’s most important geological deep valleys.

As Fundy’s powerful tides beat against and erode the Devonian-Carboniferous rocks at Cape Chignecto, a threesome of sea stacks, called the 3 Sisters, were created and stand watchfully over the Chignecto Bay.

9. Joggins – Found at the head of the Bay of Fundy, the 75-foot high cliffs at Joggins are exposed to unceasing tidal action and as Fundy’s 50-foot tides corrode the cliffs, new fossils are exposed including a rich variety of flora, various amphibian fauna, crucial trackways and some of the world’s first reptiles. The Joggins Fossil Cliffs achieved fame in 1851 with the discovery of fossilized tree trunks found in their original positions. When these trunks were closer inspected, miniscule bones were spotted which turned out to be one of the most significant fossil discoveries in Nova Scotia. These remains were from one of the planet’s first reptiles and evidence that land animals had lived during the “Coal Age”. Today the Joggins Fossil Cliffs are recognized in a top flight palaeontological site.

This short list is part of a longer write-up listing an impressive 44 geologically significant sites in Nova Scotia. One of the best ways to see all the amazing geology is by hiking along the Bay of Fundy!

stone sculpture PUBLIC ART sculptor sendelbach NEWT AMHERST

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