Sadly, the original earthcache was archived. Since it was such a very cool Earthcache, I submitted a replacement Earthcache,. Enjoy the walk and the fossils at the end!
TO GET HERE
Traveling south from St. John's, on highway 10 proceed to Portugal Cove, to the Mistaken Point Interpretive Center.
You MUST sign up for a tour to complete this Earthcache. Advance reservations are strongly encouraged. Access to the fossil site is by guided tour only. All visitors must begin their tour at the Mistaken Point Interpretation Centre in Portugal Cove South. Call (709) 438-1011 or email mistakenpointtour@gov.nl.ca for information and availability.
The trailhead is at N 46 38.503 W 053 08.462 ( A large sign marks the entrance to the trail.) From the interpretation center, you will follow their lead vehicle to the trailhead.
History of Mistaken Point
In the 20th century, Mistaken Point’s fossil beds remained hidden gems known only to local hunters and nearby residents. Children playing on the exposed beds often marveled at what they called ‘flowers in the rocks’. In 1967, while mapping Precambrian rocks along the coastline, Shiva Balak Misra and his field assistant Paul Thompson stumbled upon these remarkable fossil beds. This serendipitous discovery marked the first record of an Ediacara-type fauna in the Western Hemisphere, igniting excitement and curiosity among scientists and enthusiasts alike.
As word of Mistaken Point’s fossils spread, so did concerns about protecting the site from fossil collectors. Incidents of fossil theft prompted swift action from local communities and academics, who rallied to monitor the site and deter further pilfering. Their efforts bore fruit in 1987 when Mistaken Point was designated as a fossil ecological reserve. Subsequent extensions in 2003 and 2009 expanded its boundaries, ensuring the preservation of newly discovered fossils for generations to come.
In 2004, Mistaken Point was added to Canada’s Tentative List of potential UNESCO World Heritage properties. Collaborative efforts between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the local organization, Mistaken Point Ambassadors Inc., culminated in the submission of the Mistaken Point Nomination Dossier for Inscription as a World Heritage Site in 2015. The culmination of these efforts came on July 17, 2016, with Mistaken Point’s official designation as a World Heritage Site. Today, under the stewardship of the Natural Areas Program (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador), Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve and World Heritage Site stand as testaments to the power of discovery, preservation, and collective action. Mistaken Point is a UNESCO World Heritage Site primarily due to its exceptional and well-preserved fossils, which provide crucial insight into early complex life on Earth.
The Fossils of Mistaken Point
Named for the navigational hazard it poses at the often-foggy southeastern tip of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, Mistaken Point is one of the world’s most significant fossil sites. Imprinted upon over 100 of the bedding planes within Mistaken Point’s tilted and cleaved sequence of mudstones and sandstones are fossils of the oldest, large, complex life-forms found anywhere on Earth. Known to scientists as the Ediacara biota, these creatures lived from 580 to 541 million years ago, when all life was in the sea.
The oldest and most spectacular assemblage of these fossils – the Mistaken Point assemblage (580 to 560 million years old) – is preserved in Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. The Reserve is the best place in the world where you can view a 565-million-year-old sea floor that accurately preserves the ecology of these ancient deep sea communities.
The organisms whose fossils now form the Mistaken Point assemblage lived on the bottom of a deep ocean, considerably below the depths that waves or light could reach. At the time, what is now the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland was located between latitudes 40° – 65° South. More than 30 species (20 of which occur within the Reserve) comprise the Mistaken Point assemblage, most of them representatives of extinct groups unknown in our modern world.
Normally, when marine animals die, only bones, shells, and other hard parts are preserved as fossils. The soft-bodied creatures at Mistaken Point lived millions of years before animals developed skeletons, but the imprints of their soft tissues were preserved in place on the muddy sea floor when they were suddenly buried by repeated influxes of volcanic ash-rich sediment. The volcanic ash layers contain crystals of the mineral zircon, which enable geologists to accurately date them. Ediacaran fossils also occur in Russia, Australia, China and Namibia, but the age, abundance and variety of those found at Mistaken Point make the site unique.
The fossils at Mistaken Point are a critical milestone in the history of life on Earth, documenting the first complex multicellular organisms. They are also the oldest fossil evidence of ancestors to most modern animal groups. By far the most common fossils at Mistaken Point are the "spindles" — at the best- exposed site, over one thousand "spindles" are preserved on one surface. Despite their abundance, the "spindles" have not yet been given an official scientific name, and they have been found nowhere else in the world but southern Newfoundland.
To Log This Earthcache:
1. As you hike to the fossil bed you will make several stops. One stop will be at the plaque commemorating the official dedication of Mistken Point as a Provincial Ecological Reserve. When this dedication was made, who was the Minister of Culture, Recreation, and Youth?
2. What is the most common type of fossil at Mistaken Point?
3. What is the significance of the fossils at Mistaken Point?
4. Why is Mistaken Point a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
5. Once you reach the fossil bed, you will have access to a fossil guide containing pictures and descriptions of the local fossils. Your guide will also stay with your group and will be available to answer questions about the fossils. Locate a spindle fossil. Email a picture of the fossil along with its scientific name.
6. Post a picture of you on the fossil bed.
Logs that do not fulfill ALL requirements above will be deleted.
Source:
https://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/natural-areas/wer/r-mpe/#history
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/mistaken.html