If you like visiting ancient sites, Newfoundland’s Mistaken Point UNESCO World Heritage Site is about as ancient as it gets. Here we can get in touch with creatures that lived over 560 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs and even before the formation of the Atlantic Ocean.
Amid the rugged cliffs lining the southern tip of the Avalon Peninsula lie the world’s oldest and largest assemblages of fossils. Not just any old fossils but those representing a watershed period in life on Earth. After three billion years of evolution dominated by micro-organisms, we see large complex multi-cellular organisms begin to appear. It’s been described as the dawn of life.
A trip to Mistaken Point provides a fascinating journey back in time. But it’s also a lot more than looking at fossils, with a unique landscape that differs from most of Newfoundland, wildly beautiful and rugged coastlines, and remarkable wildlife encounters.
The Eastern Hyper-Oceanic Barrens
The site is about a two-hour drive south of St. John’s, the province’s capital and largest city. As we get closer to the south end of the Avalon Peninsula, the terrain changes dramatically as we leave behind the forest so familiar to much of the island and enter a rare expanse of mostly treeless open tundra. It immediately reminded us of the Arctic.
Known as the Eastern Hyper-Oceanic Barrens, it has some important differences from Arctic tundra. Much of the vegetation consists of heath moss that is similar to that of northern Scotland and Norway but quite rare in North America. The ground cover also has carpets of crowberry, cloudberry, blueberry, various mosses, and some Arctic-alpine plants such as Arctic azalea. This land of grand panoramas meets the sea in spectacular style as it drops abruptly into wave-battered rocks and cliffs.
How to Visit Mistaken Point
Mistaken Point got its unfortunate name years ago when it was the site of several shipwrecks. When the weather was foggy, as it often is here, sailors sometimes mistakenly thought that they had rounded nearby Cape Race on the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula. Instead, they had rounded another point a bit to the west and turned north only to run into the treacherous rocks.
The jumping-off point for a visit is the tiny community of Portugal Cove South, home to the Mistaken Point Interpretive Centre. Since the fossil site is only accessible on a guided tour, visitors have to make arrangements and register at the centre. Tours run from May to October and it is highly recommended to book ahead since space is limited and tours are very popular.
The guided hike is six kilometres return over gently rolling terrain, crossing a small creek on a bridge, and with amazing views overlooking the rugged shoreline. Our interpreter Edwina and summer student Adrianna stopped to point out plants and other aspects of this special landscape along the enjoyable 45-minute walk. The only trees are low clusters of balsam fir known as tuckamore. They appear more shrub-like, having been sculpted and pruned by strong winds.
Stepping into the Past
As we approached the fossil beds, Edwina provided some background on how they came to be. She said the area dates back to a time when this part of Newfoundland was closer to South America. The muddy sea floor hundreds of metres below the sea was where these ancient life forms survived by absorbing nutrients in the water. With high tectonic activity at the time, volcanic ash smothered and buried them just like what happened in Pompei. What we see on the surface today is the imprint of their soft bodies.
Continental drift caused the land to move to its current position. Over time, the surfaces became exposed, revealing the graveyard we now see. As more ash rubs off and coastal erosion occurs, more fossils are revealed, Edwina explained, which adds to the dynamic nature of Mistaken Point.
The fossil site itself lies in a dramatic setting, next to rugged cliffs and jumbled rock on the shoreline. The main fossils are on a pancake-flat piece of rock that overlooks the chaotic shoreline and is remarkably easy to access. At the entrance, we have to take off our shoes and walk in sock feet over the weathered slab of ancient seabed.
“There are over 6,000 fossils on these two surfaces alone,” explained Edwina, “and over 10,000 in the ecological reserve.”
Adrianna helped us identify many specimens. She gave us each a page of diagrams and photos with scientific names and descriptions. The impressions were remarkably clear, some looking like little cabbages, others like ice cream cones, and others with body parts resembling fronds, a candelabra, and spindles.
In many ways, it was a humbling experience just to be in the presence of such amazing creatures. There’s nowhere else on Earth that takes us this far back in time to provide a glimpse into ancient life beneath the ocean.
Things to Do Nearby
While visiting Mistaken Point, take some time to enjoy other aspects of the barrenlands, such as the scenery, unique plant life, and wildlife specialties. This area is home to one of the most southerly caribou herds in the world. Spend enough time and you have a reasonably good chance of seeing some. During our drive, we stopped by the side of the road to watch caribou roaming in the distance.
Tundra specialists such as Ptarmigan frequent the area. Another surprise was the number of northern harrier hawks we saw. Newfoundland isn’t normally a part of their range, but the wide open terrain in this region provides the perfect habitat for them to hunt.
Cape Race
Another must-do while in the area is the Cape Race lighthouse, a short drive from Mistaken Point. Standing out against the stark landscape, it has long been crucial to mark landfall on the busy Cabot Strait shipping route. When the 29-metre-high cylindrical tower was built in 1907, it had one of the most powerful lights anywhere in the world.
Another building on the site is a replica of the 1904 Marconi Wireless Station, most famous for its role in saving lives during the 1912 Titanic disaster. The wireless station was the first to receive the Titanic’s distress call after hitting an iceberg. It in turn relayed the message to other ships in the area. Otherwise, Titanic’s death toll could have been even higher.
Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve
Nowhere is the birdlife of the barrenlands more amazing than at Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. Not only is it among Newfoundland and Labrador’s most important seabird colonies, but it’s also considered the most accessible rookery in North America.
The road ends at an impressive interpretive centre that sets the stage for your visit. An easy one-kilometre walk takes you to a viewpoint over appropriately named Bird Island, a towering sea stack separated from the mainland but only a stone’s throw away.
Nesting northern gannets crowd the top of the sea stack, plus many more spread over nearby cliff faces. Summer nesting season bustles with activity as the birds fill the air, often bringing back seaweed to use as nesting material. Nesting pairs go through elaborate mating and greeting rituals and nearby neighbours often squabble. Landing in such a crowded colony calls for tricky manoeuvres, as a returning bird hovers to get in position and then drops down to its nest.
While the gannets are the most obvious and captivating birds, we also see common murres, kittiwakes, razorbills, black guillemots, double-crested and great cormorants, and more. It’s also the world’s most southerly breeding area for thick-billed murres.
We visited Cape St. Mary’s as part of a larger bird-watching tour led by Jared Clarke of Bird the Rock, a top expert in Newfoundland wildlife. Visiting on your own is also easy if you have a car. A big bonus is free admission to the ecological reserve, and you don’t need a guide to take you to the colony. An interpreter is usually stationed at the main lookout to provide further information and answer questions.
Where to Stay
Since Mistaken Point is about a two-hour drive from St. John’s, it would be possible to visit on a day trip from the city. But to get a taste of this special area, staying for a couple of days or more allows enough time to explore nearby sites as well. The region is also part of the larger Irish Loop, a driving route that circles the lower part of the Avalon Peninsula.
The town of Trepassey is one of the most convenient places to stay. The fishing community with a long history dating to 1617 sits in a picturesque harbour fairly close to Mistaken Point. We stayed at the Edge of the Avalon Inn, which has everything from rooms to suites and a fully-equipped guesthouse, plus a restaurant famous for its seafood.
Final thoughts
While Newfoundland abounds in awesome places to visit, we would rank Mistaken Point and the southern end of the Avalon Peninsula as being right up there among the top must-dos. There is nowhere else in the world where we can go this far back in time to get a glimpse of life on Earth. Equally rewarding is the countryside of today with picturesque fishing villages, stunning wild landscapes, and amazing wildlife. A bonus is that it is only a couple of hours away from St. John’s, making it easy to access.
For more ideas on what to do in Newfoundland, check out some of our other guides below:
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