the ediacaran periodical winter 2013

7/29/2019 The Ediacaran Periodical Winter 2013

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the EDIACARANPERIODicalEe-dee-AK-ar-an WINTER 201

The Place Where Life First Got BigNEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR CANADA

IN THIS ISSUE

Pursuing aUNESCO World Heritage Siteon the Southern Avalon

635-541 Ma


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As a resident of Portugal Cove South, Biscay Bay, Trepassey, St. Shos...or as a Newfoundlander and

Labradorian anywhere around the world.The Mistaken Point World Heritage Public Advisory Commi

PAC) is seeking your support for Mistaken Point becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What can I do?You can learn as much as you can about Mistaken Point fossil beds and about the World Heritage applicaon process

aend any workshops or meengs that are being held...go on a guided hike to Mistaken Point with a Reserve Interpreter

this summerget your family, friends and neighbors involved...and above all, ask LOTS of quesons!

What is UNESCO?The UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC and CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the

dencaon, protecon and preservaon of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstandinvalue to humanity. (UNESCO. Org) This is embodied in an internaonal treaty adopted by UNESCO in 1972, called the

Convenon Concerning the Protecon of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

What is World Heritage?Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generaons. Our cultural and

natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiraon. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Afric

Serenge, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Lan America make up o

worlds heritage. (UNESCO.org)

With your involvement and support, we hope to add Mistaken Point

to the World Heritage List which contains only 13 primary fossil sites!

The World Heritage List presently includes 962 properes forming part of the cultural and natural

heritage which the World Heritage Commiee considers as having outstanding universal value.

Can you name these UNESCO World Heritage Sites? Answer Key Page 4

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theEDIACARAN PERIODical WINTER 2013

Evergreen

JanFritz

SilvanRehfeld

JamieDavies

Jean-JacquesGelbart

Evergreen

NutshellTravel.com

GoWesternNewfoundland

Whats It All About?


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Many years before the forefathers of the Southern Avalonommunies rigorously pulled their nets, overowing with

odsh...actually, millions of years before the clis of

Mistaken Point were awash with mighty waves of the North

Atlanc. Although the ocean roared, it quietly kept a secret

hat Charles Darwin himself had been eagerly seeking through-

out most of his life. Darwin is the English naturalist and geolo-

gist who, in his famous 1859 book On the Origin of Species,

explained the diversity of life in terms of evoluon and natural

elecon. Whether you are even interested in such theories,

he fact of the maer is...these are VERY excing mes at

Mistaken Point for science bus from around the world.

Darwin believed that prior to what is known as the Cambrian

explosion; a me when there was a sudden appearance of

he ancestors of most modern animal groups fossilized in rocks

of the Cambrian period, 541-485 million years ago; that the

world swarmed with living creatures... but he could not nd

proof in the form of fossils to support his theory. He believed,

...it is indisputable that before the lowest Cambrian stratum

sediment layer] was deposited ...the world swarmed with

ving things. But, To the queson of why we do not nd rich

ossiliferous deposits belonging to these...periods prior to the

Cambrian system, I can give no sasfactory answer. This came

o be known as Darwins Dilemma. Mistaken Point is

providing INCREDIBLE informaon to assist in solving thisdilemma. However, it is sll early days in our understanding of

his millions of years old puzzle.

The pieces of the puzzle to existence of pre-Cambrian life

gradually emerged in pockets of informaon around the world.

As early as 1868, Scosh geological surveyor Alexander

Murray, the rst to develop a reliable topographical map of

nsular Newfoundland, discovered odd disc-shaped features

hat proved helpful in aging and mapping rock formaons of

he Avalon. Ironically, being almost the same age, Murray was

onducng his invesgaons at the same me as Darwin! As

geologists made similar discoveries in Newfoundland and other

parts of the world, they debated what these peculiar

ormaons were and whether they were actual proof that

pre-Cambrian mul-cellular life did indeed exist. It was not

unl 1957 with the Brish discovery of Charnia; a leaf-like life

orm from the Ediacaran (ee dee AK ar an) Period, 635-541

Why Mistaken Point? Why Now?

million years ago, that pre-Cambrian cellular life was

seriously considered. By 1959, paleontologist Marn

Glaessner, and others, had started to bring the many pu

pieces together and compile the evidence Darwin himse

had been looking for.

In 1967, MUN graduate student Shiva B. Misra and his eassistant, Paul Thompson, came upon the fossils of Mista

Point as they were mapping the rocks between Cape Rac

and Portugal Cove South. The exceponal detail of the fo

preserved under volcanic ash, allowed the idencaon

ne features in the Mistaken Point specimens that other

discoveries lacked. Today, Mistaken Point is quickly prov

to be one of the most signicant fossil sites on Earth

containing the earliest known (579 million years old),

architecturally complex, so-bodied organisms. These fo

are also the largest of their kind in the world! It wasnt u

2004 that the geologic me span from ca. 635-541 Ma

(million years ago) was ocially named as the Ediacaran

Period. Mistaken Point oers a remarkable opportunity

experience an exquisite exhibit of Ediacaran fossils

and it is in the backyard of the communies along

Newfoundlands Southern Avalon!

Fossil Find!

Pizza Disc

Ivesheadia

Spindle

Fractofusus

Bush

Bradgaa

A

B

C

Place the leer in the box to ma

each fossil with its correct nam

Answer Key Page 4

WINTER 2013

theEDIACARAN PERIODical Page 3


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43

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Can you name these UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

1. The Great Wall, China

2. Machu Picchu, Peru

3. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

4. Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

5. Vacan City, Rome, Italy

6. Lanse aux Meadows, NL, Canada

7. Serenge Plains, Tanzania, Africa

8. Pharaoh & Pyramids, Giza, Egypt

Pizza DiscIvesheadia

BushBradgaa

SpindleFractofusus

Fossil Find!

C

A

B

www.UNESCO.org

Mistaken Point Ambassadors

WhereLifeGotBig

[email protected]

(709) 438-2457 or (709) 682-7484

Youve Got Questions?... Weve Got Answers!

Jane Smith ParsonsWorld Heritage Community Liaison

Cape Race-PCS Heritage Inc.

Please contact me to learn moreabout the World Heritage applicaon

process for Mistaken Point.Its YOUR heritage...Lets talk!

Unmarked Photo Credits: Thank You to Julie Cappleman, Dr. Richard Thomas, Jane Smith Parsons, Parks and Natural Areas Division (PNAD)

TRUE or FOSSIL??

1. Local residents are allowed to pick berries without permits anywhere within the Reserve except

within the Fossil Protecon Zone (FPZ) which extends 15m back from the cli/turfs edge. T or F

2. During the winter sea duck hunng season, hunters with a FPZ permit are permied to drive their

ATVs along the trail to Watern Cove unl they reach the Watern Cove River, and also along the

Berry Pickers Trail to where it intersects with the Watern Cove-Mistaken Point Trail. Beyond these

points they are permied to walk to access coastal rocks. T or F

3. To access Mistaken Point during the winter sea duck hunng season, hunters are not permied to

drive all the way to Mistaken Point on their ATVs. T or F

4. Members of the public are permied to have res on the beaches at The Drook and Long Beach. T or F

5. Hunters, with Fossil Protecon Zone (FPZ) permits and a valid hunng license, are allowed to have

their dogs accompany them during the fall and winter hunng seasons. T or F

6. Fishing is permied in the Reserves inland waterways during the shing season, BUT access to

inland waters within the 15m Fossil Protecon Zone is by FPZ permit only (no fee). T or F

7. Local residents are allowed to hike on trails in the Reserve without a permitexcept in the 15m

Fossil Protecon Zone from the cli/turfs edge. They can request permits (no fee) to access the

15m Fossil Protecon Zone, BUT are not permied to access the fossil-bearing rocks. T or F

8. In order to protect the fossil-bearing rocks, to see the fossils in the Reserve, all individuals and

groups must take an ocial guided tour with a Reserve Interpreter. T or F

Answer Key Below

1.,2.,3.,4.,5.,6.,7.,8.

AllareTrue

the ediacaran periodical winter 2013

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