Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Canada

Abstract

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs along the coast of Nova Scotia, Eastern Canada, have been described as the “Coal Age forests” and the “Coal Age Galapagos” due to their richness of fossils from the Carboniferous period (354 to 290 million years ago). The cliffs reveal one of the most significant events in the history of life. They contain the world’s most complete fossil record of terrestrial life in the “Coal Age,” including the first vertebrates able to reproduce on land, as well as the forests in which they lived. With almost 15 km of seacliffs, low bluffs, rock platforms, and beach, the property presents remains of three ecosystems: estuarine bay, floodplain rainforest, and fire-prone forested alluvial plain with freshwater pools. These spectacular seacliffs fringing the Bay of Fundy have been carved out by the world’s highest tides. Their complete and accessible fossil-bearing rock exposures provide the best evidence known of the iconic features of Carboniferous period of Earth history.