Rock Hunting in Rockport.. Part Deux

Two weeks before this last trek in Rockport, east of Dorchester NB, I found some good indicators of what could have been a very large body of water. The fossils that I was able to find were showing me a picture of trees all bunched up and stacked on top of each other, similar to what you would find in log jams in a body of water.

I also wanted to find out how the cliffs were structured in the Bay of Fundy outside the protection of Slacks Cove. I was curious if the cliffs exposed to the active bay on the New Brunswick side were similar to the sister cliffs at Joggins in Nova Scotia. The silt and seaweed on the rocks were making my getting on the other side tricky.

Seaweed, mud, and all that slippery crap in between.

Getting around the corner was a bit tricky. Instead of going around I decided to take a chance and pass through this hole that was about my height, around 5 feet and a few inches. The distance between the hole and the ground was about 12 feet. On the other side of this hole the cliff sloped down at about 45 degrees. I decided to sit down on my ass and slide all the way down.

Picture of the cliffs at the western tip of Slacks Cove.

After making my way south of the cove, tumbling through the whole way and clinging to the rocks, I made it to the outskirts in one muddy piece. The features on how the strats are layed are more pronounce.

You can see the different layers of strata in detail.

Fossil wood logs.

I added my blue backpack on the left of the logs for contrast.

The numerous of layers of strata made of sandstone and mudstone.

The top of the sandstone layers shows ripples, a good sign this was probably sand from a shallow body of water or something similar.

These cliffs were very hard to access as the seaweed and silt made the trek very treacherous. For the amount of time it takes to get there I would need to find alternative ways to reach them via other roads or trails. I'll need to pan out the topographical map of the area and scout the numerous trails, most of them used by local loggers. The area looks promising and I can get a clearer picture of how this area would have looked like over 300 million years ago.

Till next time!

Disclaimer: In New Brunswick under the 'Heritage Conservation Act', fossils discovered must not be destroyed or removed from sites where they are found without a permit. It is every one's civic duty to report any finds to the New Brunswick Museum (https://www.nbm-mnb.ca/). This encourages the contribution these finds could make to science not just in the province, but on the global stage. You must also seek permission if you are to enter private land.