Arisaig Sea Cliffs         Overlooking the warm waters of Nova Scotia's Northumberland Strait, Arisaig offers a fascinating window to life on Earth from 448 to 401 million years ago. One of North America's most continuously exposed sections of Silurian rock is found here. The 4 kilometres (2.4 miles) of coastline from McArras Brook to Arisaig Point, including Arisaig Provincial Park, exposes 47 million years of earth history. This is not much in geological time - the Earth itself is older than 4.5 billion years. The rocks and fossils of Arisaig have been studied by geologists from around the world for over 150 years. They represent a continuous record of conditions in a warm, shallow, storm-frequented sea from the Late Ordovician Period through the entire Silurian Period to the Early Devonian Period.

Copyright © Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History 2001. All rights reserved. This site is optimized for a minimum of 800 * 600 screen resolution. Privacy