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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Looking for the Cambrian explosion


Saturday I joined Brian, Dean, Derrick, Hazen, Neville and Sue for a paddle around the Colliers Peninsula.  The first order of business was to shuttle the cars a short distance from Conception Harbour to Colliers.  Hazen and Sue stayed to keep an eye on the gear.


When we got back to Conception Harbour we got ready to get on the water.  Everyone noted Hazen was on the water first because it was unusual.


With all hands on the water we made our way north and out of Gasters Bay.


The mouth of the bay opened up the further north we paddled.


Paddling under cliffs of red siltstone.


Further along the shoreline the land came down to meet the water.


Dean checking out a small run of water in this little nook.


At Bacon Cove we stopped to stretch our legs and we had a ...


... geology lesson on unconformities.  Here we're standing on mid-Proterozoic Conception siltstones.  The siltstones date anywhere between 1 billion and 1.5 bilion years old.  Precise dating is not possible as sedimentary rocks are generally dated with reference to fossils and these rocks were deposited prior to multi-cellular life.

The Conception rocks were uplifted and eroded over a long period of time before the sea held sway again in the Cambrian period to deposit a basal layer of conglomerate.  The students *lol* point to the contact.  The Cambrian period began 542 million years ago at a time when lifeforms exploded and diversified.


We continued on paddling between steeply dipping rocks to our left and ...


... over kelp beds.


At Colliers Point we paddled into this little cove where we ...


... took out and stopped for lunch.  The forecast was for rain and while we did have the occasional sprinkle, it was warm without wind.  It was shaping up to be a large day.

To be continued ...

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