Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Fossils
I grew up on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the portion of the Bay that looks like chocolate milk all summer long and a latte gone wrong all winter, with its huge chunks of frozen brown ice coming in and out with the tide. As a kid, we'd slide on the mudflats (this can be dangerous, you CAN get stuck, the mud is very much like silty quicksand in some areas), walk the rocky beaches, and just marvel in the huge variation between high tide and low tide.
Across the bay from where I grew up was Joggins, Nova Scotia. At that time, everyone knew that there were very important fossil discoveries happening on the Joggins cliffs, and my family, who took elaborate family Sunday drives, would regularly visit the fossil cliffs. I had a huge amount of interest in rocks, geology, and fossils as a kid. At that time, the Joggins fossil cliffs were accessible via a gravel parking lot and a rickety set of wooden stairs. The general public could visit and take whatever they wanted: who knows what scientific discoveries may be sitting in someone's living room or flower garden?
The Joggins Fossil Cliffs are now Canada's 15th UNESCO World Heritage Site. A new "green" interpretation centre greets visitors at the end of the Joggins' long main street. Their green roof provides rain water for toilet flushing, they have a lovely cafe inside, and a museum explaining the history of Joggins as a ship building and merchant center as well as the history of the eras from which the fossils originate.
:: The ridges of rock show the original layers of cliffs, long worn away by the power of the Fundy Tides. The muddy chocolate milk water indicates the low tide water line.
This year we took the kids for the first time, along with my parents-in-law (who grew up nearby but for some reason had never visited the fossil cliffs) and my brother-in-law. We had a great time: my parents-in-law reunited quite by accident with friends from their hometown. I took in the scenery and continued to be mesmerized by the tides. My husband enjoyed the rocks, the beach, and the view (as well as a geocache), and my kids had so much excitement for finding "fossils" (any big rock was a fossil) and the imaginative descriptions they had for what the rocks might have been (zebra bones, lion tails) were very entertaining! My father-in-law had the best find of the day: a fossil of a tree, clear as day, with bark and growth segments, which we admired but were not allowed to leave with. We passed on our find to another family on the beach to enjoy for their fleeting moment of history and tranquility on a rocky beach.
Coal regularly falls out of the cliffs, and small rock slides happen regularly and unpredictably. The photography here doesn't capture the beauty of that area: maybe I'm biased, but the Bay of Fundy definitely tops my list as one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
It doesn't cost a penny to visit the beaches, and the fun of discovery and togetherness was well worth the drive!
Afterward, we had a picnic lunch, and enjoyed the view. Another great adventure on our very own doorstep. If you've never been to Joggins, I highly recommend it!
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