Rock Texture & Pattern at Main a Dieu

The wooden boardwalk from the Coastal Discovery Centre at Main á Dieu on the southeast coast of Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, leads to a look-out platform that is built on top of a rocky outcrop. The rock is a basalt volcanic lava flow dating from the Neoproterozoic Period around 560 million years ago. The basalt is characterised by many interesting natural fracture patterns; veins and weathered surfaces of contrasting colours; and different textures depending on exposure to aerial or aquatic erosional elements.

[We stayed at the most excellent Louisbourg Harbour Inn while we explored this part of Cape Breton Island.]

REFERENCES

Atlantic Geoscience Society (2001) The Last Billion Years – A Geological History of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, Atlantic Geoscience Society Special Publication No. 15, Nimbus Publishing, ISBN 1-55109-351-0.

Barr, S.M. (1993) Geochemistry and tectonic setting of late Precambrian volcanic and plutonic rocks in southeastern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Can. J. Earth Sci. 30, pp. 1147-1154.

Donohoe, H. V. Jnr, White, C. E., Raeside, R. P. and Fisher, B. E, (2005) Geological Highway Map of Nova Scotia, Third Edition. Atlantic Geoscience Society Special Publication #1.

Hickman Hild, M. and Barr, S. M. (2015) Geology of Nova Scotia, A Field Guide, Touring through time at 48 scenic sites, Boulder Publications, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. ISBN 978-1-927099-43-8, pp. 66-69.

Keppie, J.D., Dostal, J. and Murphy, J.B. (1979) Petrology of the late Precambrian Fourchu Group in the Louisbourg Area, Cape Breton Island. Paper 79-1, Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy.