Directions - From the TCH ( 105 ) at Bras D'Or, take the scenic Point Aconi Road all the way to the coast and Pt. Aconi Light Station. Parking at N46 20.023 W60 17.611 to gain easy access to the coastline.
CAUTION
High and Unstable Cliffs - High Tide Warning
Please use caution when on and under these cliffs, erosion is at work and the rock faces are very unstable. The best and safest time to view and travel this area is around low tide, check the marine forecasts for times, and don't allow yourself to become stranded.
Coal (Old English and Middle England col): a compact, stratified combustible rock composed largely of chemically and physically altered plant remains ( carbon ) mixed with a variable amount of inorganic material along with assorted other elements, including sulphur. Often associated with the Industrial Revolution, coal remains an enormously important fuel. It is the largest single source of fuel for the generation of electricity world-wide, and a vital component in the reduction of iron ore.
Coal is the result of a process that begins with the formation of peat. Peat is formed by an accumulation of plant material in swamps with a high water table and poor drainage. In this environment, stagnating groundwater covers the dead plant debris, preventing significant decomposition. As the peat accumulates, it becomes compacted, largely due to loss of water. Between seven and twenty-seven metres of peat are required to form a one-metre layer of bituminous coal which may represent the accumulation of plant debris over 6,000-9,000 years. The major coal seams of Nova Scotia were formed in the Late Carboniferous period approximately 300 million years ago ( that is 300,000,000 years ago ). The flora then was predominantly primitive spore -bearing plants although some early seed-producing plants also existed. The plant types which flourished and accumulated to form peat in these locations varied according to their environment. Factors within the swamp such as oxygen supply and bacterial activity affected the peat formation. Inorganic sediments (clay, silt and sand) were carried by streams and by wind into the peat swamps, particularly near their margins. These and other factors determined the nature of the coal seams mined today in Nova Scotia, especially their ash (inorganic matter) and sulphur content Peat formation was usually halted by an environmental change such as a sudden shift (avulsion) in the position of a river or an increased rate of basin subsidence. If the peat was not eroded but buried under sediments such as mud and sand, it would be preserved to undergo the process of coalification. In many cases, plants which flourished in the peat swamp when it was buried by inorganic sediments have been preserved as delicate fossils in overlying (roof) mudstones and shales, or even as upright trees in mudstones and sandstones. Through time and with the increasing pressure of overlying sediments, the peat was transformed to coal through this process of coalification. This process is a gradual change from peat through lignite (brown coal), sub-bituminous coal, bituminous (black) coal, semi- anthracite.
One of many fossils to be seen in the rock debris along shoreline at the point. Notice at least three, possibly four different plant varieties in this one sample.
The Sydney coalfield contains the largest coal reserve in eastern Canada. The approximately two-thousand-metre-thick coal-bearing Morien Group underlies a roughly triangular area with an apex south of Sydney and a base off the south coast of Newfoundland. More than 98 percent of the coalfield is submarine although eleven of the thirteen known major coal seams outcrop on land. The coal seams dip gently approximately 5° toward the deeper offshore basin centre except where affected by the northeast-trending open flexures. Even on the flanks of these folds, dips rarely exceed 15°. The fact that seams tend to be somewhat thicker in the synclines than over the anticlines suggests that these structures are at least in part contemporaneous with deposition of coal. The rank of the Sydney coals varies considerably, increasing to the east and with depth. They are classified generally as high volatile A bituminous but in places reach medium volatile bituminous.
Overview of the coal seam on one side of the point, looking at approx 200 deg. true along the coast.
The same location as above, but now being viewed from on top of the headland with Aconi Island just off shore.
Close up of the Point Aconi seam showing both iron staining ( reddish brown ) and organic sulphur leachate ( yellowish ) along the lower areas of the seam. These are both contributors to acid mine water drainage into streams and rivers during and after mining, and sulphur emissions from the burning of coal causing acid rain.
The mining of coal has been a major factor in the industrial and social development of the Province of Nova Scotia. Nicholas Denys, governor of Nova Scotia, stated in dispatches to France in 1673 that there was "a mountain of very good coal four leagues up Spanish River," near Cow Bay, Cape Breton Island. By 1720, a mining operation had been initiated to supply the French fortress Louisbourg. The first officially recorded export of minerals from Canada occurred in 1724 when a shipment of coal was exported from Cape Breton to Boston.
The Prince Mine was located in Point Aconi, Cape Breton County. The mine began underground production from the Hub Seam in 1975, initially using room and pillar methods. Mechanized retreat longwall operations began in 1980. After producing approx. 25,000,000 tons of coal, it was closed in 2002. This was the last of the major producing collieries in Cape Breton. Below is the mine plane showing the workings. The Hub Seam is approx. 150 metres below the Point Aconi Seam.
When you are at the given coordinates at Point Aconi, you are standing at location C on the mine plan, only you are a few feet above sea level, not the 150 m below ground & ocean. To give a bit of scale to the mine plan, the distance from points A to B is approx. 10,000 metres.
To gain credit for this EarthCache, you must visit the site, gain the required information and email me the answers before you log it as a find, please include your home town/village/city. My hope being you get an understanding and appreciation of these rock bed conditions. Failure to do so will be IMEDIATE LOG DELETION, no questions or explanations given. You will require a measuring tape, and a way / instrument to measure an incline in degrees ( one can easily be made from a protractor, piece of string and a small weight ) and a map of the area to help orientate yourself.
1. Measure the thickness of the Point Aconi Seam.
A) 20", B) 40", C) 60", D) 80"
2. Obtain a DIP reading in degrees and bearing.
Dip Angle A) 0°, B) 6°, C) 20°, D) 30°
Dip Bearing A) North, B) South, C) East, D) West
3. Obtain a STRIKE bearing for the beds.
A) North-South, B) East-West
4. There is another very small coal seam that is visible at the point. Give its thickness and location in respect to the Point Aconi seam.
A) approx. 2" thick, 10' above the Point Aconi Seam
B) approx. 7" thick, 5' below the Point Aconi Seam
C) approx. 8" thick, 7' above the Point Aconi Seam
D) approx. 4" thick, 4' below the Point Aconi Seam
If you have a digital camera and spot some nice fossils, upload pictures of your find for all to enjoy. I hope you will enjoy your travel to Point Aconi, and remember to use caution and show respect for the conditions.
For further information on Coal, Coal Mining and Fossils in Cape Breton
Visit the Cape Breton Miners Museum, Glace Bay
Visit the Cape Breton Fossil Center, Sydney Mines
Unique Hits
Cape Breton Coal Point Aconi EarthcacheVisitors :
Papillon-1 Sydney, N.S. 2007-01-04
WhiskeyTD South Bar, N.S. 2007-01-04
Plasma Boy Halifax, N.S. 2007-05-19
MarvinM Halifax, N.S. 2007-05-19
CacheMan&GeoGirl Halifax, N.S. 2007-06-09
Zonker&Co Riverview, N.B. 2007-08-27
DuckDude Riverview, N.B. 2007-08-27
3Watts Tofino, B.C. 2007-09-08
penguins lament Ottawa, Ontario 2008-07-18
rockgiant Sydney River, N.S. 2009-01-11
fishermanj unknown, N.S. 2009-06-10
roachthebuildere North Sydney, N.S. 2009-07-05
VinnyMac&SMP Halifax, N.S. 2009-07-12
The Mac Pack Scotch Lake, N.S. 2009-07-12
OxSling Germany. 2009-10-12
NytmareMuise Cape Breton, 2010-10-23
Northwoods Teacher Maine, 2011-08-03
Northwoods Explores Maine, 2011-08-03
Jaro Cape Breton, 2011-08-18