Flock of Sheep EarthCache
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The Flock of Sheep is a set of glacial boulders sitting on top of the darker volcanic basalt on the southern end of Grand Manan Island that protects the gravel of the Island in this area.
This set of boulders, many of which are precariously sitting on the edge of the cliff at low tide, is actually the "Lower" Flock of Sheep. You may wonder how did this area get its name, as they are just a group of glacial erratics. I wondered the same thing until I saw them in the fog. Just imagine a boat going along the shore in the fog and suddenly a group of white things appear out of the fog sitting on black rock with a dark green forest background. They indeed do look like a flock of sheep feeding along the shore.
What makes them special is not their size but the setting and what they do to protect the shore. Do was this area formed? First we have the cliffs and sea floor that are composed of Basalt produced when the sea floor was flooded with lava 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic period. As it slowly cool it produced these tall dark columns. While the white granite erratics were formed 440 million years ago during Late Ordovician Period. They were formed deep underground as the molten rock slowly cooled. These erratics were formed in an area 40 miles to the north in mainland New Brunswick.
This is not an earthcache about erratics or even the basalt of the cliffs but the story of how this strange combination of time and geology came about. How did they get here? The last major glacier to cover this area when it finally melted some 14,000 years ago delivered the erratics. As the glacier melted it deposited it load of boulders, gravel and sand. The top layer of soil is referred to as till and covers most of the Island. So why are these erratics in a line along the shore and not all around. If you look at the erratics you will see that their size is very uniform and generally a bit small in diameter then the layer of till covering the shore.
The Basalt on the other hand has formed long columns in a hexagonal pattern, which as the water works its way into the cracks has been broken. You while the storm wave wash the broken bit of basalt into the sea the remaining erratics protect the shore from further erosion. At the posted coordinates you should be able to see how the basalt has been broken leaving nice columns with the granite boulder sitting along its edge. If you look around the erratics you will see very little gravel as most has been washed into the sea. Only those stable erratics still remain, as the others rolled off the cliff long ago into the sea below, according to geologist there are 105 erratics that remain protecting the shore. But only a couple of meters inland you will see the very unstable gravel remains of the till that covers the Island.
Remember this is an earthcache so there is no container just an earth science lesson at an amazing natural feature that needs to be protected. If you look around you can see that in the most violent storms the wave reach the upper edge of the Basalt? Assuming in a very violent storm that the wave make their best effort to wash away the grave. To log this cache, email me through my profile the depth of the till sitting above the basalt, it distance from the edge of the water during a storm and how stable you think it is. Please include the name of the earthcache and the number of people in your group in your email. In your log please take the time to describe what you find special about this location and its unique features, it is also nice to include photo so other have some idea what to expect.
Do not try to take the shortest path to this location, as you will find while it maybe short it is not quick. Use the “Red Trail” that circles the Island along the shore. It can be accessed either where the road leaves the shore to the north in Deep Cove or from the South-west Head lighthouse. Either way look for the rd sign and follow the trail along the shore, which in some cases crosses over rocks that can be slippery.
This earthcache is best visited at low tide and the tide moves very quickly. If you would like more information on the geology of the area, Greg McHone has an outstanding webpage called Grand Manan Geology at (visit link)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Treasures
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