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Miramichi River, Doaktown
Upper Carboniferous age rocks underlie much of the interior of eastern New Brunswick. The beautiful valley of the Miramichi River is a landscape formed on this flat plain. The rocks are nearly invisible, covered by forests that stretch to the horizon. Along river valleys is where we catch a glimpse of the bedrock below. The mostly flat-lying sedimentary rocks provide a relatively gentle landscape crossed by rivers that lazily wind their way to the Northumberland Strait. Rocks from this time period were mostly formed in ancient rivers, lakes, swamps or estuaries. Sandstone is the most common rock type and plant fossils abound. In central Brunswick near Minto and Chipman coal has been mined from these rocks since the 1600s. Coal is formed by the accumulation of organic matter, produced in the rich forests dominated by giant lycopod trees and seed ferns.
