While the huge Bay of Fundy tides erode the imposing ocean cliffs and wash the shoreline a lot of intriguing rocks, fossils, zeolites, as well as semi-precious stones are revealed. Featuring a interesting geology going back billions of years the Bay of Fundy is eden for geologists.
The Glooscap Trail, given its name after the indigenous god who's believed to have produced Fundy’s fantastic tides, extends down the Bay of Fundy coastline between the provincial border towards Amherst and Windsor.
1. Milford - Low oval to dome-shaped hills, known as Drumlins, are made up of sediment leveled and shaped by glaciers throughout the last 100,000 years in Nova Scotia. Drumlins make glorious farmlands. As well as the Milford and Shubenacadie areas of Nova Scotia, Halifax's Citadel Hill and the islands in Mahone Bay are instances of drumlins.
2. Noel Shore - Tightly folded Carboniferous sandstones and mudstones overlain by slightly tilted red Triassic sandstones and conglomerates are found along the Noel Shore. The line between these 2 sorts of rocks, known as an unconformity, can be seen at Wet Cove, near Pembroke. This unconformity signifies a gap of over 100 million years that's 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 streams that once flowed through this area.
4. Truro-Victoria Park - Victoria Park's Lepper River cuts thru Carboniferous sandstones built up in traditional streams.
5. Five Islands - Mi'kmaw legend claims that the native god Glooscap created these five islands - Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg and Apex - when he threw chunks of sod at Beaver. Signs throughout the park provide visitors with info 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 essentially red Triassic sedimentary rocks, Jurassic sandstones and mudstones and a white layer that shows the border between the Triassic and Jurassic times - marking one of Earth's great extinction events.
6. Parrsboro - The largest community along the north shore of the Minas Basin, Parrsboro is a good place to witness the phenomenal power of the Fundy tides. These tides, the highest in the world, sculpt the shore daily exposing 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 typically composed of complexly faulted and slanted Jurassic sediments and volcanics, making it difficult for the average beachcomber to see the fossils here.
Minerals like green celadonite, stilbite and chabazite can also be found throughout this region. Additionally, astounding perspectives can be enjoyed from the impressive basalt cliffs at Cape d'Or, near Advocate Harbour.
7. Port Greville - 2 tiny continental bits collided and slipped against each other roughly 390 million years ago to create what is now the Province of Nova Scotia. The boundary, called the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault System, similar to California's San Andreas Fault, is a very 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 handy place to view this fault.
8. Cape Chignecto - Composed of 600-foot towering cliffs, 18 kilometres of spotless coastline, steep gulfs and old-growth forests, Cape Chignecto Provincial Park is located on the Western end of the Avalon Eco-Zone along the Bay of Fundy. Not only is the park a good spot to observe the tides, as they steadily lap at the base of the cliffs, Cape Chignecto is home to some of the province's most significant geological deep valleys.
As Fundy's dynamic tides beat against and wear away the Devonian-Carboniferous rocks at Cape Chignecto, a trio of sea stacks, called the 3 Sisters, were made and stand watchfully over the Chignecto Bay.
9. Joggins - Located 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 made public including a rich variety of flora, various amphibian fauna, crucial trackways and some of the planet'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 examined, tiny 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 first reptiles and proof that land animals had lived during the "Coal Age". Today the Joggins Fossil Cliffs are recognised in a world-class palaeontological site.
The Glooscap Trail, given its name after the indigenous god who's believed to have produced Fundy’s fantastic tides, extends down the Bay of Fundy coastline between the provincial border towards Amherst and Windsor.
1. Milford - Low oval to dome-shaped hills, known as Drumlins, are made up of sediment leveled and shaped by glaciers throughout the last 100,000 years in Nova Scotia. Drumlins make glorious farmlands. As well as the Milford and Shubenacadie areas of Nova Scotia, Halifax's Citadel Hill and the islands in Mahone Bay are instances of drumlins.
2. Noel Shore - Tightly folded Carboniferous sandstones and mudstones overlain by slightly tilted red Triassic sandstones and conglomerates are found along the Noel Shore. The line between these 2 sorts of rocks, known as an unconformity, can be seen at Wet Cove, near Pembroke. This unconformity signifies a gap of over 100 million years that's 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 streams that once flowed through this area.
4. Truro-Victoria Park - Victoria Park's Lepper River cuts thru Carboniferous sandstones built up in traditional streams.
5. Five Islands - Mi'kmaw legend claims that the native god Glooscap created these five islands - Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg and Apex - when he threw chunks of sod at Beaver. Signs throughout the park provide visitors with info 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 essentially red Triassic sedimentary rocks, Jurassic sandstones and mudstones and a white layer that shows the border between the Triassic and Jurassic times - marking one of Earth's great extinction events.
6. Parrsboro - The largest community along the north shore of the Minas Basin, Parrsboro is a good place to witness the phenomenal power of the Fundy tides. These tides, the highest in the world, sculpt the shore daily exposing 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 typically composed of complexly faulted and slanted Jurassic sediments and volcanics, making it difficult for the average beachcomber to see the fossils here.
Minerals like green celadonite, stilbite and chabazite can also be found throughout this region. Additionally, astounding perspectives can be enjoyed from the impressive basalt cliffs at Cape d'Or, near Advocate Harbour.
7. Port Greville - 2 tiny continental bits collided and slipped against each other roughly 390 million years ago to create what is now the Province of Nova Scotia. The boundary, called the Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault System, similar to California's San Andreas Fault, is a very 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 handy place to view this fault.
8. Cape Chignecto - Composed of 600-foot towering cliffs, 18 kilometres of spotless coastline, steep gulfs and old-growth forests, Cape Chignecto Provincial Park is located on the Western end of the Avalon Eco-Zone along the Bay of Fundy. Not only is the park a good spot to observe the tides, as they steadily lap at the base of the cliffs, Cape Chignecto is home to some of the province's most significant geological deep valleys.
As Fundy's dynamic tides beat against and wear away the Devonian-Carboniferous rocks at Cape Chignecto, a trio of sea stacks, called the 3 Sisters, were made and stand watchfully over the Chignecto Bay.
9. Joggins - Located 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 made public including a rich variety of flora, various amphibian fauna, crucial trackways and some of the planet'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 examined, tiny 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 first reptiles and proof that land animals had lived during the "Coal Age". Today the Joggins Fossil Cliffs are recognised in a world-class palaeontological site.
About the Author:
This article is part of a larger article detailing an impressive 44 geologically significant sites in Nova Scotia. One of the best ways to enjoy this unique geology is by backpacking the Bay of Fundy!
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