Everybody knows that east coasts are usually calmer and more easily inhabitable. Right? East coasts are usually the green coasts, where no storm ever hits and the fields simply turn to beaches and then into the ocean.
That is until you start to look at the history of the areas.
The first time I came here, I saw this tortoise-looking rock. At once I thought of basalt, but that is not exactly sandstone coloured. It made no sense, so I let it slide. After all, I am no geologist by any stretch.
Basalt or sandstone?
But it turns out that this rock is indeed of volcanic origin, although not exactly from volcanoes. At least not from volcanoes as we imagine them today. Not those cone-shaped stratovolcanoes, no, this was a rift in the earth, just spewing lava. I love rocks but don’t ask me how they originated.
Open ocean
I am also capable of mixing and matching very different eras in the geological history of the earth. In Manitoba, I have found fossils that were some 480 million years old, but the rocky history here is way beyond comprehension. Perhaps if I went to a university to study this, I would know better.
Thomas H Raddall Park
What I can see is that many rocks here in Nova Scotia are from the granite variety, meaning that they have the same origin as basalt, but have been closed up in the earth, never getting a chance to form a crystalline structure.
Kejimkujik by the Sea
In many places the ocean has eroded much of the coastline over time, often removing the smaller particles we call sand, leaving the bigger rocks behind. The result is that there are “beaches” where one definitely wants to have a lounge chair or something to stay comfortable.
Native or imported by ice?
The last ice age, ending some 9000 years ago left behind a lot of non-local rocks. I guess we can call them local after 9000 years now? In countries like The Netherlands or Germany, these stones were later used for burial sites and such, but I have not heard of those here in Nova Scotia.
Normal road or Quarry?
Wherever you go in Nova Scotia, at least on the south side where I live, there is not a single area where you find no rocks. All land has to be cleared of rocks regularly for any farmer to use it.
After a while, usually not more than a few years, the bigger rocks again move to the surface. This phenomenon can also be observed if you put a LOT of salt on some peanuts. Shake the bowl and the peanuts (bigger rocks) come to the surface of the salt all by themselves.
Western Head Waves
East coasts may mean more clement weather, but we should not exclude storms, hurricanes and more. We often get the tail-ends of hurricanes from further down south. In recent years we have seen the tails of Hurricane Lee, Hurricane Fiona and a bunch of lesser tropical storms. All of these storms will have removed sand from the beaches.
Rissers Beach
One such beach, Rissers Beach, some 35 km away from where I live had Hurricane Lee tear away most of the sand. What was formerly a very pleasant beach to spend the summer on is now a strip of exposed rock. The level of sand has decreased by at least two meters, showing only the bare rock instead. Most of the beach is now off-limits to visitors.
I am just wondering what geological treasures could await me on that exposed rock. I may not be knowledgeable in rocks, but I am curious nonetheless.
Until next time…