Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Joggins Fossil Cliffs
.
The Joggins Fossil Cliffs is famous for its record of fossils dating to the Pennsylvanian "Coal Age" of earth history, approximately 310 million years ago. The cliffs are continually hewn and freshly exposed by the actions of the tides in the Cumberland Basin.

The fame of Joggins dates to the mid-nineteenth century, and the visits in 1842 and 1852 by Sir Charles Lyell, the founder of modern geology and author of Principles of Geology. The fossil record at Joggins also figures in Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", and played a role in the Great Oxford Debate of 1860 between Bishop Wilberforce and Thomas Huxley.

Much of the fossil record at Joggins was discovered by Nova Scotian geologist Sir William Dawson (1820-1899), who had a close personal and working relationship with Sir Charles Lyell. Investigations by Dawson led to the discovery of one of the most important fossils in the history of science, Hylonomus lyelli, which remains the earliest known reptile in the history of life.

Year Decision Comments
2008 Inscribed Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Lesley Moll (Canada):
The Joggins fossil cliffs are outstanding. Definitely worthy of recognition as a world heritage site. I have visited the site several times over the last 10 years, most recently in November of 2008. My son is doing a project for the National Heritage Fair and has chosen Joggins as his topic.
The staff at the fossil center (despite the center not being open) met with us and spent 2 hours answering my sons questions, taking us down to the cliffs on a very blowy and cold afternoon and generally being exceedingly kind and helpful.
The center is beautiful and the cliffs are highly interesting. I can't wait to visit on a warmer day in 2009.
Date posted: December 2008


Have you been to The Joggins Fossil Cliffs? Share your experiences!

Add your own review