Beach Collecting - Two Islands to McKay Head - AGAIN
Sept 8, 2014 20:23:10 GMT -5
gingerkid, bsky4463, and 4 more like this
Post by 150FromFundy on Sept 8, 2014 20:23:10 GMT -5
In this part of the world, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, we will soon run out of fair weather weekends for rock hounding. Laura and I made the familiar walk from Two Islands to McKay Head in hopes of filling a bucket.
Many of the long-time members have seen this location before. I never get tired of it. Hopefully, you’re not.
Two Islands, at least for now. In about 2 hours, the remained of the water will have drained and the first island is a 300m wet walk in ankle deep water. There is about a 60 minute collecting opportunity, but I didn’t bring my water shoes today.
To get to McKay Head, it’s about a 1 mile hike past the McCoy Brook Formation. This is some of the earliest sedimentary rock from the Jurassic period. This rock is significant, because its fossils record some of the earliest life (vertebrate, dinosaur, proto-mammals) after the mass extinction between the Triassic and Jurassic periods.
McCoy Brook formation composed of sandstone, shale and conglomerate. This is now a UNESCO protected site due to the fossils. However, the material is highly erodible. If the fossil is on the beach, it’s likely yours, unless it is of major significance.
Off in the distance, you can see the contact zone between the McCoy Brook formation (red) and the North Mountain basalt (black). There’s a nice little room with a view up on the cliff, but beach access is challenging.
Five Islands is visible off in the distance. Note the beach here, along the McCoy Brook formation, where the rock is soft and highly erosive.
Five Islands is still visible off in the distance, but the beach here is a boulder field of basalt rubble. The basalt is quite brittle, but is very dense and resists erosion.
The cliffs of McKay Head are amygdaloidal basalt. The vugs have filled with chalcedony, agate, jasper, and zeolites. Although it is late in the season and the area has been picked, there are still goodies hiding amongst the rubble. 6 ft human for scale.
Even though the basalt is dense and resists erosion, the Bay of Fundy can be a nasty place when storms blow in. Wave action undercuts the cliffs, forming cavities and sea caves. As the cavities enlarge, the weight of the overlying cliff will eventually be brought down as water and frost penetrates the fractures. These beaches are re-charged with fresh material from rockfalls with every spring thaw.
We had an awesome afternoon and managed to fill half a bucket of blue chalcedony, and agate/jasper combinations. We also found a few crystals that I am cleaning and working on an ID. I’ll post photos when I get things figured out.
Darryl.
Many of the long-time members have seen this location before. I never get tired of it. Hopefully, you’re not.
Two Islands, at least for now. In about 2 hours, the remained of the water will have drained and the first island is a 300m wet walk in ankle deep water. There is about a 60 minute collecting opportunity, but I didn’t bring my water shoes today.
To get to McKay Head, it’s about a 1 mile hike past the McCoy Brook Formation. This is some of the earliest sedimentary rock from the Jurassic period. This rock is significant, because its fossils record some of the earliest life (vertebrate, dinosaur, proto-mammals) after the mass extinction between the Triassic and Jurassic periods.
McCoy Brook formation composed of sandstone, shale and conglomerate. This is now a UNESCO protected site due to the fossils. However, the material is highly erodible. If the fossil is on the beach, it’s likely yours, unless it is of major significance.
Off in the distance, you can see the contact zone between the McCoy Brook formation (red) and the North Mountain basalt (black). There’s a nice little room with a view up on the cliff, but beach access is challenging.
Five Islands is visible off in the distance. Note the beach here, along the McCoy Brook formation, where the rock is soft and highly erosive.
Five Islands is still visible off in the distance, but the beach here is a boulder field of basalt rubble. The basalt is quite brittle, but is very dense and resists erosion.
The cliffs of McKay Head are amygdaloidal basalt. The vugs have filled with chalcedony, agate, jasper, and zeolites. Although it is late in the season and the area has been picked, there are still goodies hiding amongst the rubble. 6 ft human for scale.
Even though the basalt is dense and resists erosion, the Bay of Fundy can be a nasty place when storms blow in. Wave action undercuts the cliffs, forming cavities and sea caves. As the cavities enlarge, the weight of the overlying cliff will eventually be brought down as water and frost penetrates the fractures. These beaches are re-charged with fresh material from rockfalls with every spring thaw.
We had an awesome afternoon and managed to fill half a bucket of blue chalcedony, and agate/jasper combinations. We also found a few crystals that I am cleaning and working on an ID. I’ll post photos when I get things figured out.
Darryl.
