Nova Scotia Fossil Quest – Featuring Blue Beach, Hantsport

T. Webb HHSName: ______

The Lower Carboniferous Period

  1. Describe what we would have observed traveling back to this time –

A)Where was NS located?

B)What formed the Horton Group rocks?

C)How old are they?

D)What minerals were deposited at this time, and why?

E)Describe the paleoclimate.

  1. Explain what tetrapods are, and what type of environment they lived in, according to paleoclimatic evidence.
  1. What is particularly significant about the tetrapods at Blue Beach? Describe.
  1. Parrsboro and Joggins are world-famous for their dinosaur finds. Many people do not realize that Blue Beach/ Horton Bluff is an equally (if not more) significant geological area of fossil finds. In the ancient time of 1979, I was part of a team that preserved the footprints of the large tracks found near Horton Bluff…What is so special about these footprints? and

5. The Science of Trackways – Ichnology:"There is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps," -- Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, 1891. List four reasons why trackways are important. Go to

A)

B)

C)

D)

  1. The Hurd Creek and Blue Beach members of the Horton Bluff Formation (Tournaisian age) at Horton Bluff near Hantsport contain several forested levels, and may be the oldest well-preserved forests in Nova Scotia. What are the three most common plant evidence found there?
  1. Describe the characteristics of the clubmosses (lycopods) and how they differ from present day specimens.
  1. Blue Beach sediments were deposited shortly after “Romer’s Gap”. Describe what Romer’s Gap is, and how it is significant in the study of fossils.
  1. What are Rhizodonts?
  1. Go to Read through the four common questions about fossil hunting. Does this mean you can keep a fossil you find on the beach? Explain…
  1. Here is a fossil I “donated” to the museum 

Go to Read through the listed topics and answer below:


What is the importance of a trace fossil? How does something become a fossil? 


What is a coprolite?

What can trace fossils tell us? List 3 pieces of evidence.

What two processes are often used? Why do scientists do this?

Activities - Survivor IV: Traces in the Field Being a trace isn't easy. Conditions have to be just right before a trace will become fossilized. See if your trace will survive!