By the close of the Carboniferous Period, 280 million years ago, the shoreline of the inland sea had withdrawn to the east, and almost the entire surface area of Nova Scotia was above sea level. Only a small portion of Cape Breton remained under marine influence. This marine regression marked the beginning of the last continental phase of the province's geological history. Since that time, portions of Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces have been exposed to continuing subaerial erosion, with the products of this erosion being deposited into several large depressions. The Triassic-Jurassic sediments along the Bay of Fundy contain fossils of some of the world's oldest dinosaurs.

This Document Includes:

Permian (280-230 million years ago)
Triassic to Jurassic (230-140 million years ago)

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Additional Keywords:
Pangean supercontinent, Meguma terrane, Avalon terrane, Red Head, Fundy Rift System, Blomidon Formation, Scots Bay Formation, McCoy Brook Formation, Wolfville Formation, North Mountain Formation, Newark Supergroup, Wasson's Bluff, Carrs Brook, Pereau, Five Islands, fossil fish, fossil reptiles, reptile footprints, dinosaurs, chertified logs, volcanism, grabens, sedimentation, tectonism, dune deposits.

Associated Topics:

T2.2 The Avalon and Meguma Zones
T2.4 The Carboniferous Basin
T3.5 Offshore Bottom Characteristics