Newfoundland May 20-25, 2017

[giantbrookie]

Newfoundland weathers very hard winters, but late May is apparently usually very nice. It was for this reason that a grand geologic field trip was planned there. Although expensive by the standards of such field trips, this was a can't miss field trip for someone of my research interests. The trip was led by my friend Cees van Staal (Geological Survey of Canada, retired) who has taken plate tectonic analysis of the rock record to another level, with his pivotal region being the Newfoundland exposures of the northern Appalachians. In other words, I went along to see some iconic geology and also learn how I can improve my game in western North America.

Anyhow Newfoundland was buffeted by some pretty strong storms during the first two days of the trip that brought some driving snow and led to the cancellation of certain field trip stops (buried under snow or access roads blocked) and addition of "alternative" stops. As a native Californian, this weather was pretty fierce, but my cold and foul weather gear held up well. I had never seen sea ice before and there was lots of it. It is usually long gone by this time of year. On the day after the field trip I did a tiny little hike to the top of a hill overlooking St John's. Although the weather had improved by then, it was still super windy and chilly (probably about 33-34F).

Some photos:

On day 1 (May 20) the snow fell heavier as the day went on.

The snow became heavy enough so that we weren't sure we would in fact be able to drive to where we would be staying for the next two nights (Baie Verte).

The first stop of day 2 was a short one as snow fell heavily along with some very strong wind. I'm near the back-center just to the left and behind the guy in the red with the sunglasses.

I'd never seen sea ice before. We'd see a lot of of it on this trip.

Here the sea ice has largely melted but a nice iceberg has floated on in.

Another ice-choked part of the coastline.

The weather turned much more pleasant by day 4 (May 23) but things still looked wintry to sea.

This "bay view" this isn't what you normally think of seeing from a hotel room window.

The Atlantic coast viewed from the near the top of Signal Hill above St John's. A nice iceberg is see in upper right. The mouth of the harbor narrows is below the white buildings on the upper right.

St John's viewed from near the top of Signal Hill. The harbor is on the left, but to the right is a glacial lake, like the ones in the High Sierra but at an elevation of about 350' above sea level. Newfoundland was completely overrun by glaciers during the Pleistocene ice ages, so we get features like this at low elevations unlike the High Sierra where the lowest elevation cirque lakes are at a bit above 5000'.

Atlantic coast viewed northward. This is the very easternmost part of North America and the point of closest approach to Europe. Out there east across the Atlantic is Ireland.

[Harlen]

Glad you got away for some travels abroad. Cheers!

[windknot]

Neat looking area, thanks for sharing. I was hoping to see pictures of some trophy brookies though!

[rlown]

For some reason I dislike Ireland and Scotland.. Oh yeah, my bosses were from those areas, when they laid me off; and 15 of my US friends to be legal about it.

Nice report GB..

[giantbrookie]

Neat looking area, thanks for sharing. I was hoping to see pictures of some trophy brookies though!

I couldn't help but wonder about fishing prospects in all of glacial lakes I saw, as well as the streams (running super high at the time, though, because of the snowmelt). Every now and then I'd see someone fishing in one of those lakes but was not close enough to see how they did or what they caught. Given that I have thoughts of returning here for research someday, I checked on fishing regulations in Newfoundland. It turns out fishing for non-residents is really limited. The only areas a non-resident is permitted to fish are within a very short distance of certain major highways, otherwise one has to be accompanied by a professional guide or a relative who is a resident of Newfoundland.... or something like that. The bottom line is that I'll bet there is some really good fishing to be had, but if I go back there to do research someday the fishing potential is not likely to be a distraction (sadly).

[Harlen]

Why would you ever want to return GB? Isn't it just a lot of 2 billion year old straight craton? Pretty dull stuff for you I reckon. We thought you liked your geologic formations blended and stirred.... and then spilled, and scraped into a pile onto the floor!

[giantbrookie]

Why would you ever want to return GB? Isn't it just a lot of 2 billion year old straight craton? Pretty dull stuff for you I reckon.

Actually Newfoundland is special because it is primarily a collage of units assembled during the development of the Appalachians and whereas there are little slivers of older rock, most of the rocks there are <600 million years old and there are many of the things that make enthusiasts of intricate geology happy: mélanges, subduction complexes, ophiolites, high-pressure metamorphic rocks, but all with an "Appalachian" flavor where things have been mashed by the terminal collision of continents (prior to opening of the Atlantic), whereas western North America's analogous belts (North American Cordillera) haven't suffered from the last crunch. Anyhow, Newfoundland provides the very finest of Appalachian geology and researchers there have set a standard in studying the assembly of mountain belts that, in my opinion, is way ahead of the other regional research communities of the world. It serves as motivation as well as a source of learning for someone like me who would like to help research in the North American Cordillera "catch up" to the level of that done in the Appalachians (OK, for me 'catching up' is not good enough); they've been in the lead now for some 20+ years. Although I think researchers in Newfoundland are way ahead of the curve, the fact that they've nailed down some things better than anywhere else also opens up unique opportunities to test certain theories on plate tectonic processes that haven't been done there yet, as well as develop new ones. And, of course, there are some things I can contribute from my specific experience in California (subduction interface and mélange stuff). Hence my wish to return.

Bummer about the non-resident fishing situation, though, as well as the comparative shortage of hops (for a West Coast person) in their beer, although the Yellowbelly brewery of St John's is quite acceptable. But that all is good for me to get work done--fewer distractions. But my return to the geology of Newfoundland is a bit back in the queue of bucket list stuff for international field work. First will be parts of Japan and Taiwan (scheduled for September) where I will look at things that are kinda Franciscan-like except more screwed up, with much worse exposure than coastal California (covered with even denser vegetation).

[Harlen]

Thanks for the update and information re. East Coast geology- we wrongly assumed you were traveling amid the old Canandian Shield geologic province. We really value any geologic insights you can provide; for us geology is a hugely important facet of deepening our understanding and appreciation of mountain country. Thanks a lot GB.

[Vaca Russ]

Watch out for those Canadians. You do know that over 90% of them live within 50 miles of the US border.

I think those people are getting ready to INVADE!



JMHO,

-Russ