Post by 150FromFundy on Aug 18, 2012 7:35:47 GMT -5
I’ve posted photos of Partridge Island in the past, but this is one of my favourite haunts, so here we go again. Partridge Island is just outside Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. It is located at a point where the Bay of Fundy meets the Minas Basin and is subjected to the world’s highest tides twice a day. In this area, about 45 vertical feet of water will arrive over the next six hours, so we better get moving.
This is a very foreign looking terrain created in the late Triassic, early Jurassic era, some 200 million to 300 million years ago. When this portion of Nova Scotia was ripped apart from Africa, numerous lava flows covered the older seal floor leaving behind thick layers of basalt which form the 200 foot high cliffs on Partridge Island.
Sea Stacks at low tide
We’re getting a little closer
Life is hardy and will take a foothold wherever it can. The trees are windswept and stunted by the salt air.
The basalt is amygdaloidal and contains many vugs. In this particular area, the vugs are seldom filled with agate, but are filled with numerous zeolites. This vug is mostly filled with orange stilbite, but there appears to be a few more interesting crystals deeper inside.
The basalt is also painted with a few colourful treats. This is malachite crust. Unfortunately, it is only as thick as a coat of paint.
Crust on basalt
I managed to find a fresh rock fall that brought a lot of zeolites down from the cliffs. Enough material to fill my backpack without the need for digging. The next three photos are rocks that I didn’t have enough room for.
Zeolites
I’ll post a few of the rocks that did make it off the island shortly.
Darryl.
This is a very foreign looking terrain created in the late Triassic, early Jurassic era, some 200 million to 300 million years ago. When this portion of Nova Scotia was ripped apart from Africa, numerous lava flows covered the older seal floor leaving behind thick layers of basalt which form the 200 foot high cliffs on Partridge Island.
Sea Stacks at low tide
We’re getting a little closer
Life is hardy and will take a foothold wherever it can. The trees are windswept and stunted by the salt air.
The basalt is amygdaloidal and contains many vugs. In this particular area, the vugs are seldom filled with agate, but are filled with numerous zeolites. This vug is mostly filled with orange stilbite, but there appears to be a few more interesting crystals deeper inside.
The basalt is also painted with a few colourful treats. This is malachite crust. Unfortunately, it is only as thick as a coat of paint.
Crust on basalt
I managed to find a fresh rock fall that brought a lot of zeolites down from the cliffs. Enough material to fill my backpack without the need for digging. The next three photos are rocks that I didn’t have enough room for.
Zeolites
I’ll post a few of the rocks that did make it off the island shortly.
Darryl.
