Draft 2012 October
GEY 277N: Field Geology of Newfoundland
Course syllabus
May Term 2013 (5/20-6/7)
Credits: 4
Prerequisites: none
Instructors: Drs. Reusch and Eastler
Course description and objectives
Mountain belts reveal the building blocks of the continental crust, and they contain the primary archives of
earth history. On this field trip, students explore the bedrock geology of the Island of Newfoundland, which
exposes a world-class cross-section of the Appalachian mountain belt. The story of this mountain belt,
largely deciphered from the island’s superb coastal outcrops, has helped shape the modern theory of the
earth.
During the 1960s, it became clear that 500 million-year-old fossils in western and eastern
Newfoundland lived literally an ocean apart (see figure). Our trip will traverse this Iapetus Ocean that
straddled the southern hemisphere between around 600 and 400 million years ago. As the Iapetan seafloor
sank into the earth’s interior, various continental and oceanic pieces were added to the ancient core of
North America, known as Laurentia. The Iapetus Ocean became the Appalachian mountain belt!
On the Avalon Peninsula of eastern Newfoundland, an ancient continental fragment, termed
Avalonia, once lay on the side of Iapetus far from Laurentia; beautiful wave-washed sea cliffs contain
evidence of ancient glaciation and the very best exposure on the planet of the first multi-celled organisms.
Central Newfoundland hosts vestiges of former volcanic islands and deposits formed in the deep abysses of
the ocean. In western Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park became a World Heritage Site on the basis
of its phenomenal bedrock geology, which archives the birth, life, and death of the Laurentian continental
margin.
Through structured field experiences, students will be introduced to basic principles of
mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry, sedimentation and stratigraphy, and structural geology and
tectonics. Some attention will be given to understanding how the shape of the modern landscape reflects
bedrock features, modified by the action of ice, running water, and waves. The main objectives will be for
students to:
1) observe and document (via sketches, maps, and related activities) a variety of rocks, fossils, and
structures in their natural settings;
2) interpret and synthesize the geologic history. In particular, emphasis will be placed on relating the
details of “outcrop geology” to plate tectonic settings and process.
While geology will occupy center stage on our field trip to “The Rock”, Newfoundland culture is also
original and intriguing. Newfoundland developed in relative isolation, becoming a province of Canada only
in 1949. For this reason, the course comes with 1 CCP credit (comparative cultural perspectives).
Readings (copies will be placed on reserve, and also available to read in vans)
Atlantic Geosciences Society, 2001. The Last Billion Years: A Geological History of the Maritime
Provinces of Canada. Nimbus Publishing Limited.
Fortey, Richard, 2004. Earth: An Intimate History, Vintage Books, Division of Random House. (Ch 6,
p.165-208 on Newfoundland)
Oreskes, Naomi (ed.), 2003. Plate Tectonics: An Insider's History Of The Modern Theory Of The Earth.
Westview Press, 448 p. (essay by John Dewey)
Walker, Gabrielle, 2004. Snowball Earth: the story of the great global catastrophe that spawned life as we
know it. New York: Crown Publishers, 288 p. (chapter on Mistaken Point)
Draft 2012 October
Logistics The course fee of $1000 includes cost of van, accommodations, entry fees, and most meals.
Typically, breakfast will be left to individuals. Most suppers and some lunches will be organized as group
meals (although individuals may choose not to participate). We will be camping most of the time.
Approximately once a week, there will be an opportunity to do laundry. Weather in Newfoundland at any
time of year is highly variable. Participants will need to be well-prepared for some cold, wet, windy,
miserable weather.
Itinerary (* exercise to be collected for assessment)
Day
Date
Field sites (topics/activities)
1
20
M
2
21
T
3
22
W
4
23
Th
5
24
F
6
25
Sa
7
26
Su
8
27
M
9
28
T
10
29
W
11
30
Th
12
31
F
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Sa
Su
M
T
W
Th
F
Roadcuts near Saint John, NB (introduction to sedimentary
structures, stratigraphic laws, and rock cycle)
Joggins, NS (fossils & depositional environments,
measuring sections*, introduction to carbon cycle)
Port au Port Peninsula (geologic contacts & mapping*,
fossils & depositional environments continued, basementcover comparison; introduction to structures [folds])
Drive to St. John’s; Gander Lake (unconformity); quiz on
geologic time*
Southern Avalon: Mistaken Point, Gaskiers (Precambrian
glaciations*, first metazoa, fossils & evolution)
St. John’s area: Cape Spear, Flatrock (folds and faults;
thrust fault-sediment relationships*); laundry day
Manuels, southern Conception Bay (fossils &
biogeography, unconformity*); afternoon in St. John’s
Gander area (Dover Fault, granites, Bowen’s reaction
series, metamorphic rocks)
West shore of Change Islands (*stratigraphy & structure of
Tom’s Ph.D. field area)
Change Islands Interpretation Center; Dildo Run (Dunnage
Mélange)
New World Island (stratigraphy & structure of Doug’s
M.Sc. field area, Red Indian Line [Iapetan suture]);
Moreton's Harbor (mapping of volcanic features*)
Drive to west coast (black shales & ocean chemistry);
laundry day
Woody Point interpretation center and Bonne Bay
(Laurentian continental shelf and basement)
Cow Head (transported continental slope rocks*)
Table Mountain (far-travelled oceanic crust and mantle*)
Green Gardens hike
Drive; ferry & trip review/assessment
Louisbourg; drive
Drive; return mid-afternoon; clean-up
Campsite
Fundy National
Park
Cabins on ferry
Corner Brook
Butterpot
Butterpot
Butterpot
Butterpot
Change Is.
Change Is.
Twillingate
Twillingate
Gros Morne
Gros Morne
Gros Morne
Gros Morne
Gros Morne
Antigonish
Fundy
UMF
Course grade
1. (10%) Contribution to field guide (1-2 pages; list of possible topics will be provided by April 1)
2. (15%) Three quizzes on ancillary readings (chapter on Newfoundland in Fortey; chapter on
Mistaken Point in Walker; essay by John Dewey)
3. (50%) Approximately 10 field exercises (e.g., fossil exercise, measured section, maps, crosssection)
4. (10%) Field notebook, including daily summaries. Guidelines will be provided, and checks will be
made early on, and at the end of the trip.
5. (15%) Comprehensive assessment based on integration of personal observations with information
presented in The Last Billion Years.