Marian Langhus

Joggins Fossil Cliffs – Where BnB Geologists Go – 2019

Bruce and Marian Langhus, July 5, 2019

  • Geologist Bruce Langhus with a 300-million-year-old tree stump at the base of fossil cliffs.
  • Geologist Marian Langhus searches tree stump for signs of the first reptiles (similar to the finds of early geologists.)

Bruce and I are both geologists and Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia is our favorite place to explore. Only 2 hours and 20 minutes from Lang House in the Village of Gagetown, New Brunswick, Joggins is a special delight when the new or full moons give extra high (and low) tides in the Bay of Fundy. A visit along the cliffs there takes about two to three hours (if you are into seeing Carboniferous aged fossils.) I taught Historical Geology sixteen times and the diagrams that I used come back to me when I see the sights.

Charles Darwin did not visit Joggins but he used the writings of Sir Charles Lyell and Sir William Dawson in the preparation of writing Origin of Species in 1859. The diagram below is from Dawson Airbreathers of the Coal Period (1863) shows the hollowed out tree trunk similar to the stump that we examined. The earliest reptiles were discovered here in trunks of these trees from 300 million years ago! For more information, read https://jogginsfossilcliffs.net/cliffs/history/

For more information: Calder, J. H. (2006). “Coal Age Galapagos”: Joggins and the Lions of Nineteenth Century Geology. Atlantic Geology, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.4138/2155

When I took this picture of Bruce at the southerly-most end of our walk, I laughed at the face in the cliff and said how it reminded me of the diagram of James Hutton (Scottish Geologist 1726-1797) staring at his adversaries at the time. For more information about the Fathers of Geology and the time they spent at Joggins.

  • Bruce Langhus at the north end of our walk.
  • Have a look at that face in cliff!

Fossils at Joggins hold many surprises, for example, the fossilized tree stump has a yellowish sheen of pyrite (fools gold!) The plant fossil shown on the railing was left there by a visitor who knows that it is wrong to remove fossils from the site. “Take only pictures!”

  • Fossilized tree stump, boot for scale. The yellowish coating is pyrite! Fool’s gold! An amazing find!
  • Fossil tree piece left on the stair rail for all to see. We leave fossils at Joggins (even though it is hard to do!)
  • Fossil plant material.
  • Top: plant impresson
    Bottom: Early reptilian tracks
  • Looks like a tail and footprints of an ancient reptile.

We leave the fossils on the beach for others to find and enjoy. Mostly the fossils are plant material but sometimes footprints and trails can be found as seen above.

We enjoy looking at the rocks exposed with the low tide.

  • Concretions or nodules in the rock.
  • Fossil pieces.
  • Plant impressions and fossils.
  • Plant fossils and worn brick pieces, red and black pieces may be sedimentary concretions.

Our trips to Joggins are some of my best memories.

  • Bruce and little grandson looking for fossils no doubt!
  • Super day with grandson and his mom! Loving the experience!
  • My son, checking out the sandstone layers at Joggins.
  • A tour of Joggins – October 2017.Geologist for scale.
  • Looking north along the cliffs of Joggins.
  • Looking south taken from the same vantage point on the stairs that go up to the education center.

The difference between high and low tide is quite significant. One time we went there only to find the beach entirely under water with waves crashing close to the base of the cliffs. On July 5, we experienced the low tide about one hour after the lowest low tide and were able to walk along the sea floor. The advancing tide was approaching fast as we climbed up the steep stairs to the parking lot.

  • About an hour after maximum low tide on July 5, 2019
  • Two and a half hours later. You don’t want to walk far away and be caught up against the cliffs.

Nothing like a trip to Joggins, Nova Scotia, to remind us about geologic time!

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