In the long geological time period up to the end of the Carboniferous, almost all of Nova Scotia's geological units -- the old crystalline rocks of the Avalon Zone and the folded slates and greywackes of the Meguma Zone, along with younger Devonian granites and Carboniferous limestones, salts, sandstones and coal -- were assembled. All these were subject to erosion under a hot, dry climate during the Permian and Early Triassic periods.

During the 150 million years prior to the Triassic Period, Nova Scotia occupied a central position in the interior of the supercontinent Pangea. The Permian Period was quiescent tectonically in Nova Scotia, with only erosion of pre-existing rocks occurring. During the Triassic, however, a new phase of crustal motion began and the last geological component was added: the Triassic-Jurassic sediments and basalts. The basins into which these rocks were deposited became the precursors of the various important coastal features known today as the Bay of Fundy, Chignecto Bay, the Minas Basin and Chedabucto Bay. The volcanic basalts remain as some of the province's more well-known landscape features. The grey rock capping the cliff in the picture above is basalt.

This Document Includes:

Crustal Movement Begins
Faults and Grabens
Volcanic Rocks -- Basalts
Basalt Flows
Mineralization
Sills and Dykes
Morphology of the Triassic-Jurassic Area
Continental Separation

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Additional Keywords:
Orpheus Basin, Cabot fault system, Fundy Rift system, North Mountain Formation, Five Island Provincial Park, Partridge Island, Scots Bay, rift valley, half-graben, magma, lava, tholeiites, amygdales.

Associated Topics:

T2.1 Introduction to the Geological History of Nova Scotia
T2.2 The Avalon and Meguma Zones
T2.5 The Nova Scotia Desert