Joggins Fossil Cliffs and Centre

(Delayed posting. Visited during summer 2024) 

The Maritime provinces have a lot of human history stretching back thousands of years. It also has millions of years in prehistoric history that can be explored at Joggins Fossil Cliffs and Centre. Closed in mid-fall and winter time I previously didn't get a chance to see this place when I returned for visits the Maritimes. Now I could.

A UNESCO site, it encompasses 15 million years of rock formations from 325 to 310 million years old. I booked a spot in a group guided tour and was glad I did. After an overview of the site and its history, they showed several fossils in the rock cliffs as we walked along the beach. 

The second part of the tour involved searching and showing the guide what interesting rocks we found so they could tell us what they were. Sometimes they were stumped or could only give general approximations of what type of rock they were and what made the imprint. Most fossils found were plants that lived at the time millions of years ago. There were a few partial footprints found trapped in small stones. This part was of particular interest to the young humans present and the young at heart. I got into the search for interesting rocks as well.

The day started foggy but after the sun evaporated it away the walk and views were marvellous. 

The strata layers pushing through the surface were also interesting. Time takes a whole new scale when viewed through the eyes of geology.

Here were some particularly interesting stones that I found. We could not keep any of them, of course, but a picture is perfectly fine.

I really liked this one and the swirling patterns.