Thanks to an exhibit
renewal grant from the
Province of New
Brunswick's Heritage
Branch of the
Department of Tourism,
Heritage &
Culture, the geology
exhibit was updated in
2011 by geologist Greg
McHone with new
displays in a new
room. The western
coast of the island
has high headlands
that advance into the
sea. This side is
covered by thick
Mesozoic lava flows
around 201 million
years old, and it is
mostly uninhabited,
with a bold front of
basalt cliffs.
The eastern side of
the island is low and
quite level. A variety
of schistose
metamorphic rock
formations underlie
this side of the
Island, which range in
age between 618 and
535 million years. A
major basin border
fault is well exposed
at Red Point, which
separates the eastern
and western packages
of rocks.
Geology Exhibit.
About
the Collection:
The bedrock map of Grand Manan on the
wall shows locations of rock formations
and structures. The latest version is
from 2011, also available from the New
Brunswick Department of Natural
Resources. Reference:
Fyffe, L.R., Grant, R.H., and McHone,
J.G., 2011, Bedrock geology of Grand
Manan Island (parts of NTS 21 B/1O and
B/15): New Brunswick, Department of
Natural Resources: Lands, Minerals, and
Petroleum Division, Plate 2011-14 (map
scale 1:50,000).
Interesting minerals are in a wall
cabinet, while examples of island rock
types can be touched on a table.
The only fossil types on Grand Manan
are Pleistocene sea shells, viewed in
their own case.
Photo posters with explanations are
arranged for the three ages of Grand
Manan geology.
Two panoramic posters illustrate the
geology of the Back of the Island and
Seven Days Work.
Visitors are invited to view
beautiful tiny crystals and sand
grains up close through a stereo
microscope.
Kid-friendly rock areas.
A seismic station records earthquakes
both near and far, telling us about
fault movements and earth structures.
