This structure is a simple fissure in the basaltic rock that makes up the rocky shore of the western part of the island. What is impressive is the cascading water from within the structure's cores. The Devil's Oven is not accessible at full high tide, but probably an hour afterward would be OK. This geologic formation is at the high tide mark on a public beach, so it is not private property.
Grand Manan is comprised of two great and widely differing sections, dividing the Island almost from end to end. Dr. Abraham Gesner the provinical geologist in his 1839 account titled, “First Report of the Geological Survey of New Brunswick” called designated the western section as “trap rock” (of volcanic origin) and the eastern as schistose (sedimentary) rock. The southern contact is known as Red Point (approximately 680m away, at GC2DN2A) while the northern contact is deeply buried in Whale Cove. He noted that at Red Point the lava from the western volcanic eruption may have flowed up and over the older eastern formation.
While Gesner was correct that Grand Manan does indeed have a geologically split personality, the sections have a very different reason for the division line. The eastern rocks are sedimentary rock formed during the early Cambrian Period somewhere between 535 and 618 million years ago. This rock was formed for sediments layed down at the bottom of a sea. While the western rock which are the youngest formed during the Jurassic Period some 200 million years ago. This rock is composed of thick lava flows, which have changed little from when they cooled in the beginning of the Jurassic Period. They are part of the enormous “flood basalt” that underlies most of the Bay of Fundy. The Basalt at the Red Point Fault is of the Dark Harbour member, a single massive flow, which forms cliffs up to 100 meters high along much of the western shoreline. As it slowly cooled in a huge lava lake, vertical columns formed from bottom to top. (description originally summarized by fellow cacher Northwoods Explorer)
At the coordinates of the Devil's Oven, you are looking at the newer and darker volcanic basalt. This basalt tends to crumble vertically, as seen clearly at the Southern Head cliffs (GC2E85G), so a fissure like this is not unexpected.
The striking feature of the Devil's Oven is the water coming from cracks in the basalt. A large amount of usable underground water is called an aquafer; smaller amounts like those seen here are simply called groundwater.
You do not have to post a picture to log this find, but feel free to do so. As well, this structure is beautiful in the winter, so a picture of a frozen visit would be nice to see.
Little is required to log this earthcache as found.
1) Tell me the name of your group, and the number of people who visited.
2) You need not be over-technical in this description, but how would you describe this feature? What shape is it? How deep does this fissure go horizontally into the rock? Approximately how high does is it from sand level?
3) Do you think that the minimal but constant leaking of water from the rocks might have had anything to do with how this structure formed? If so, how?