Fionna has been "diggin" into fossils again. There seems to be a pattern forming...The bugs die down and the study of ancient dead things begins.
She recently purchased a book about fossils, rocks and minerals of the Maritimes at the book shop and looked up the hot spots for fossils in Nova Scotia. She Googled the one that looked closest on the map, Blue Beach, to find out it was only about an hour and a half away on the Bay of Fundy. This weekend we ventured out to see what we could find.
We think these are fossilized water ripples - yes those are considered fossils too.
Possibly fossil mud cracks filled in?
Wes looked it up and is pretty sure this is fossilized cracked mud. This was totally fascinating and indicated that this area was an area with fluctuations in water level that alternated between saturated and very dry. This type of fossil can tell a lot about the environment at the time. So interesting.
Some things are easier to look up than others. We have contacted the founders of the Blue Beach Fossil Museum, which is closed this time of year, and are hoping to organize a field trip/tour with them in the spring. It will be so nice to have a knowledgeable guide on the beach to help distinguish a fossil from a "neat rock" and give some insight into what we are seeing.
The thing that is especially interesting about this area for Fionna is that the fossils are from the Carboniferous period... the period of the large insects. See the connection... always back to the insects. She is holding out hopes of finding an insect fossil. I can see many more trips to Blue Beach in our future.
Do you have any fossil spots close to home? Have you ever been fossil hunting? We would love to hear about your fossil adventure.
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6 comments:
How fascinating is that!? Looks better than Reversing Falls... and in your own backyard.
See you next week.
Yes, but Fionna had those RF fossils out yesterday and was noting just how easy it is to see what they are. Those are the ones that kick the fossil hunt off again. Hope we get to go back someday.
what an incredible place to explore dawn! i love that interest and inter-connected-ness of things she learns around the insect world....matthew has that going on with birds to a similar degree...i loved reading this!
~Erin xo
Thanks Erin. I love Matthews bird book. So neat how they develop their interests.
Every time I see some of your beach photos I miss living near the ocean more than ever! Especially since your chilly, foggy beach reminds me so much of the NorCal beaches in the Bay Area. Sigh.
Annie... This place reminds me of NorCal a lot. Wes and I often talk about that.
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