Explore
Fundy Trail Parkway
The rock outcrops along the Fundy Trail Parkway expose both Precambrian to Cambrian rocks near the bridge at Big Salmon River, and Triassic age rocks along the coast to the west. About 400 million years of Earth history can be seen here. The older rocks tell the story of the ancient Iapetus Ocean. In Greek mythology Iapetus was a Titan, and father of Atlas. The modern Atlantic Ocean is named after Atlas. From the hiking trails and driving route through the Fundy Trail Parkway visitors witness fantastic landscapes and vistas. The Permian-Triassic rocks along the Fundy Trail Parkway record the breakup of Pangea and the opening of Atlantic Ocean.
The Fundy Trail Parkway road follows the cliff tops along the red Echo Cove Formation. At Melvin Beach the trail provides access to the rocks. A lone flowerpot can be seen from the ‘Flowerpot Rock Scenic Footpath’. Rocks are eroded by the action of water slowly breaking down the layers into smaller pieces. As the rocks are slowly worn down the sand and mud is washed out into the Bay of Fundy eventually to become sedimentary rocks again as part of the recycling of the Earth’s crust. Flowerpots are a picturesque result of coastal erosion. They are small fragments of the eroding coastline that have withstood the pounding of the sea. They remind us where the coastline once stood. Someday they will succumb to the sea.
View transcript (Adobe Flash Player, 40 seconds, 2.3 MB)
For best viewing of this site, you will need the plugin: Adobe Flash Player
