There is a reason why Newfoundland is referred to as The Rock, as anyone who has walked any part of the island’s jagged, weather-beaten coastline can attest.

One is reminded constantly how special the geology of this place is: large “erratics” – boulders marooned by retreating glaciers – dot the landscape; brilliant gashes of coloured marble cut into granite cliffs; a section of the Earth’s mantle – poisonous to most plants – creates a moonscape along a section of the island’s west coast.

The geology of Newfoundland is recognized as one of the most distinctive and varied on the planet – a fact that has created a vibrant tourism industry for the province. Hundreds of university researchers visit Newfoundland each summer, along with mining surveyors hoping to cash in on the island’s proven gold-mining potential.

The world-renowned Fogo Island Inn exists partly because of the impressive coastline and rock formations that offer a stunningly beautiful panorama from almost any vantage point.

Newfoundland is home to one UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is awaiting word on a second location, both of them focused on geology. On the west coast, in Gros Morne National Park, lies the Tablelands, recognized by UNESCO because it is one of the few locations in the world where the planet’s mantle lies exposed at the surface. This bleak rusty-orange feature is the culmination of a breathtaking drive between the mountains and fjords from the main highway on the Northern Peninsula to the town of Woody Point.

UNESCO will decide this year whether to designate another site, this one located on the Avalon Peninsula at Mistaken Point on the southeastern portion of the island. Here, visitors can be taken on a tour to view and walk amongst the world’s oldest multi-cellular fossils, which date as far back as 565 million years.

Notable points of interest in the St. John’s area include an underground tour of a former iron ore mine on Bell Island, and the trilobites on display at the Manuels River Interpretation Centre. Then there is the famous, towering presence of Signal Hill in St. John’s, with the impressive Johnson Geo Centre as a focal point downhill from the battlements surrounding Cabot Tower.

One of the most humbling sites lies in central Newfoundland, where the now-extinct Beothuk people lived until being wiped out by settlers almost two centuries ago. The rocks of this region once lay at the bottom of the Iapetus Ocean, one of the few visible remnants of an ocean that predates – and gave way to – the Atlantic.

Geological heritage is recognized as an important contributor to the province’s growing tourism sector. The provincial government, communities and private-sector players throughout the island have created hiking trails, festivals, tours and events with a focus on geology.

Tourism operators expect a bump in visits from both Canadians and Americans this year, due to the low loonie. If that happens, then the island’s geology is certainly a must-see experience.

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