Field trip to Rainy Cove
Dr. Raeside and Dr. Snyder took an eager group of students to examine outcrops along the Noel Shore, Hants County on 21 September. Accompanied by Dr. Ricketts who provided some novel insights into the generation of the coastal geomorphology, the group started at Walton, viewing the spectacular folding of the Horton Bluff Formation.
After lunch at the lighthouse, the group headed to Rainy Cove and out on to the sand bars with metre-high dunes. Excavation of a dune reveals the structure of the sediment.
With the tide turning we returned to dry land to examine the sedimentary structure of the Triassic Wolfville Formation, which shows many of the same features as we saw on the modern dunes.
Finally at Rainy Cove, we hunted Carboniferous tree stumps and found a pair of them at the top of the beach.
Finishing our tour at Rainy Cove we moved on to Cheverie where we examined several units - the Windsor Group, and the Pembroke, Macumber and Cheverie formations. Here we found sandstone with tree branch fossils, limestone with soft-sediment deformation, brecciated limestone and great pavements of gypsum, much of it oozing petroleum. Some blocks of gypsum show evidence of shearing with S and C fabric enhanced by solution weathering.
At the end of the day, participants were tired, but happy, most with new treasures to adorn their dorm rooms.
[Photo by Peter Ricketts]