Locations in Nova Scotia (Part 1): Joggins – a Carboniferous fossil forest
George Burden (Canada)
There are three fossil sites of major interest to both professional and amateur palaeontologists in Canada’s east coast province of Nova Scotia. These are the Upper Carboniferous Horton’s Bluff/Blue Beach site, the Parrsboro fossil site at Wasson’s Bluff (which just post-dates a mass extinction event at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary) and the Lower Carboniferous site of Joggins. It is this last site that I will concentrate on.
Perhaps, the most famous of these three is the Joggins site, which has just received designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its fossil cliffs, which are the remains of a 300 million-year-old forest, are washed twice daily by the immense Bay of Fundy tides – at up to 15m, the highest in the world. New fossils are constantly unmasked by tidal action, and the trunks of huge Lycopod trees can be seen studding the cliff face.
Joggins became world-famous in 1851, when Sir Charles Lyell and Sir William Dawson discovered the remains of what is, arguably, the World’s oldest reptile, Hylonomus lyelli, tucked inside the trunk of a fossil tree. Dawson guessed correctly that small creatures would become trapped in hollow tree trunks and, indeed, multiple specimens are often found in these locales. Later, Charles Darwin would mention the site in his book, The Origin of the Species, prompting some to call Joggins the “Coal Age Galapagos.”
A walk on the beach at Joggins will frequently turn up specimens of Lepidodenron sp. and Sigillaria sp. (both Lycopod trees), as well as fossilized impressions of seed ferns (Alethopteris sp. and Neuropteris sp.).
The fossil horsetail, Calamites sp., is common and a visitor may well also see the fossilised footprints of Dendrerpeton acadianum, a one-metre long amphibian that cruised these Coal Age forests. Perhaps, the most bizarre fossils are the tank track-like imprints left by Arthropleura, an arthropod and the largest creature to haunt the Carboniferous forest. It closely resembled a centipede, but one that was two metres in length.
A visit to the new, nine million dollar Joggins Fossil Centre will prove invaluable to those wishing to familiarize themselves with the site. Please try to time your visits at times other than high tide if you wish to visit the cliffs! For additional information on location, tours and Fossil Centre hours go to Joggins Fossil Cliffs: UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For further information on the unique paleontological and geological history of this area, and for information to help you plan a visit to Nova Scotia, you can go to the following websites:
Overall, Blue Beach, though less heralded, is a hidden treasure awaiting visitors to Nova Scotia, who share an interest in palaeontology.