STONEHAMMER GEOPARK continued

Irving Park
      We spent a pleasant and informative afternoon with a naturalist at Irving Park, one of the several sections or links of Stonehammer Geopark, a linear geopark.

    The 600 acre peninsula of volcanic rock and forest is sandwiched between the ocean and a wide expanse of tidal salt marsh.  In St John, it was adopted by J.D. Irving Limited to help protect an environmentally significant, endangered area in New Brunswick along the Bay of Fundy coastline. This special part of the Fundy Coast, minutes from a major urban center, is now a place where the public can enjoy and experience the various ecosystems of the Southern New Brunswick coastline. With 7-miles of hiking trails in the park’s groomed woodlands, this is some of the best free environmental tourism anywhere. Nature trails are clearly marked, and being well mulched made for easy walking. The area is great for bird watching. Over 250 species have been recorded in the area. 

    Not so long ago the whole area was a field grazed by sheep. A few years after the sheep were removed we hiked in a natural regenerated forest. Our guide was most informative pointing out various plants and trees.

     Eventually we came upon the 61 steps leading up to the park's observation tower. Hidden among the treetops at the highest point on the peninsula it provided a 360° view of the land, seascapes and salt marsh below. The large sturdy structure is more a viewing area rather than my definition of a tower.

     We balanced on 2 X 6 planks spanning a couple stream beds before we reached the wooden boardwalk stretching 330-feet over the marsh. No animal eats salt marsh grass, so the marsh becomes a giant compost heap providing food for birds and tiny invertebrates.

     The abundant rich food sources found in the salt-marsh and the sea attract numerous species of migratory and marine birds. The area is a traditional staging site on flight paths between the Arctic and South America, and a breeding ground for many shore birds along the Atlantic coastline.   All of the built features in the park were constructed with the least disturbance possible to the area's fragile ecosystems.

The Fundy Trail

     The 6323-acre linear park and ecosystem hugs the coast of the awe-inspiring Fundy Escarpment on the Bay of Fundy, and it was a thrill to spend all day here. Ten miles of the parkway is finished. The road follows Fundy cliffs and dramatic coastline sculpted by tides. Another part of the Stonehammer Geopark, it is also a UNESCO designated Fundy Biosphere Reserve. Traveling through 251-million year old rock makes it  one of the last accessible coastal wilderness areas between Florida and Labrador. There is a wide variety of flora, fauna, wildlife and birds in the area. The trail/park has miles of walking and hiking trails along the last undeveloped stretch of coastline on the eastern seaboard.  Along the developed coastal trail are 23 solid wood lookouts showcasing gorgeous seascapes. It was a lovely clear day!

      Fifty years ago Mitchell Franklin had the vision for the trail and bought 2000 acres along the coast. The first section of the trail opened in 1999. The money is secure now for the trail and road to continue all the way to Fundy National Park and should be open by 2018. The area is governed by the Fundy Trust Authority.

     We detoured off the trail to see a large stand of fiddlehead ferns. We had eaten fiddle heads the night before. It is also called ostrich fern because it can grow 6-feet tall. The stem of this fern had a V like a celery stalk. That is an easy identifier as there are other ferns that have a coiled head before leafing out that are not edible.

     Another detour took us toward the water to see a flower pot rock. Carved from Fundy’s sandstone sea

cliffs over the course of years and years, the Flower Pot Rocks – sometimes referred to as sea stacks – showcase the vertical variance of the Bay’s great tides. Originally the rocks were attached to the coastline, but time, and erosion separated them, sort of like a glacier calving. The ice floats away; the rocks stay put.

     The unique rocks are called Flower Pot Rocks for the trees that grow at the top of the reddish-brown stacks resembling plants growing in a terra-cotta clay pot. Sea stacks are found in a few places along Fundy’s coastline, but are most common and famous at Hopewell Cape.

     By lunchtime we made it to Big Salmon River and its Interpretative Center.  Nice benches lined the wrap around deck of the center. We ate lunch facing the river below listening to its rippling sound.

    In the theater Mitch Franklin’s daughter talked to us about her gathering photos and stories for the video. Franklin died a few years ago and she buried some of his ashes in the anchor post of one of the bridges named for him. What fascinating stories she had to tell!

        A bit farther we found the 275-foot long suspension bridge over the Salmon River.  On

the far side was a small waterfall. This is also where the Fundy Footpath begins--a continuous wilderness trail from Big Salmon River to the boundaries of Fundy   National  Park, a total distance of 24 rugged miles where the terrain leads up and down from elevations of 0 to 984 ft. and across a dozen ravines. Most of the elements of the Fundy ecosystem exist within this area, including the dramatic Fundy tides.  Only one would not cross the bridge. It swung some but not as badly as the Capilano bridge in Vancouver, then again this was a shorter and narrower bridge.  The ruins of the old saw mill and the cribs that housed the cut logs were only a short walk away.

GEOPARK and REVERSING FALLS

                                             Lots to See and Learn

     I knew what an eco-museum was and, among my travels, have visited several, but a geopark was new to me. I quote from a Stonehammer pamphlet in New Brunswick, Canada: A Geopark is an area recognized by the Global Geoparks Network, supported by UNESCO, which has exceptional geological heritage. This simply means the area has a natural landscape that is good for education, has a significant scientific value, is particularly rare or it is simply beautiful to look at. Geoparks are not just about geology though, they also take in sites with interesting archaeology, wildlife and habitats, history folklore and culture, all of which are intricately linked with the underlying geology.

     The landscape of Stonehammer has been created by the collision of continents, the closing and opening of oceans, volcanoes, earthquakes, ice ages and climate change. The rocks here have been witness to the evolution of life, from the discovery of Precambrian stromatolite fossils to the ‘Cambrian Explosion’ of life to the evolution of vertebrates and the emergence of life on land.

     There are several parts to Stonehammer Geopark  and the parts we saw included the Irving Nature Park, Fallsview Park and the Reversing Rapids, the Sea Caves, and the Fundy Trail. The area where the two continents collided and split was under a harbor bridge in St. John. We rode over the bridge but did not investigate below.

Reversing Rapids, previously reversing falls

     The phenomenon of the Reversing Rapids is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of the tides of the Bay of Fundy, which at 50-feet are the highest in the world. The natural southward-facing opening of the Bay of Fundy receives the on rushing ocean tides.

     The tidewater is normal when it enters the bay. But as it travels up the bay it changes. Squeezed by the ever-narrowing sides and the constant shallowing of the bottom, it forces the water higher up the shores. The low tide running out of the bay collides with the new, incoming high tide, combining forces to make a higher wave coming in. The combination of wave forces is called resonance.

    The tides are affected by the distance of the moon from the earth. St. John River, 450 miles long, empties into the bay. At Fallsview Park, across from the Pulp Mill, is the perfect place to view the river  as it thunders through a narrow gorge. An underwater ledge, 36 feet below the surface, causes the water in the river to tumble downward into a 175-200 foot deep pool. Below the mill and under the bridge the water boils in a series of rapids and whirlpools.

    As the bay tides begin to rise they slow the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow completely. This short period of complete calm is called slack tide. This is the only time boats are able to navigate the Falls. Shortly after this slack tide, which only lasts 20 minutes, the bay tides

Low Tide from Fallview Park

become higher than the river level and slowly, at first, the river begins to flow upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow gradually increases and the rapids begin to form, reaching their peak at high tide. The effect of this reversal is felt upstream as far as Fredericton, more than 80 miles inland.

     The tide rises and falls once about every 12 1/2 hours, making high tide in 6 hours 13 minutes and the same for low tide.

     Across from the pulp mill we were able to view both the high and low tides and observe the difference of the colliding tides.  We were also in the right place at the right time to see a slack tide.

Sea Caves

     At low tide we stopped to take pictures of the boats stranded on the bottom of the harbor. We couldn’t resist a picture of the two covered bridges and light house. It is the only place in the world where one can find this combination. The lighthouse now is the Visitors’ Center. We had no need to visit it as we had all the literature/pamphlets we needed.

     The caves are accessible only at low tide. We hit that at mid morning. We walked across the rocky beach and then had no choice but to wade through an ankle deep stream about 12-15-feet wide. There was no way to even think about keeping one’s feet dry. I had on my good heavy walking shoes—oh well—I was going!

   Relatively large and deep, the Bay of Fundy has molded these attractive caves -- definitely a testament to the power of the tides. The cave is of red sandstone and in itself is not really unusual as far as caves go. What interested me was the very fine chocolate color sand floor.

     The caves are another part of the Stonehammer Geopark. Part of the sedimentary outcrop in which the caves occur is Triassic in age, dating back to the time when the Atlantic Ocean was just beginning to open and the Bay of Fundy was a rift valley. The Triassic is also the time when dinosaurs first appeared on Earth. The Bay of Fundy is 120 miles long and 30 miles across. One morning, just an hour off high tide, we drove to a path that led us up and out on top of the caves where we had an entirely different perspective of the caves that now were full of water.