Tectonics

So I got to walk on stones that are from the earth’s mantle - tossed up onto Newfoundland when Africa was breaking away from Pangea. As the rocks are very dense (weigh more than granite) and are full of heavy metals, they rust from a black to a light orange colour. They are also poisonous to plants, and very few have adapted enough even to live on the margins. So there are hills with almost no plants. The glaciers took away any of the earth’s crust that had built up, leaving a baron landscape.

As the Stone weathers, tiny cracks appear that are filled with white and form a crazing pattern on the rocks.

The Gros Morne Park contains sections of the original North American Shield, the Iapetus sea, and volcanic stacks. Other parts of Newfoundland contain rocks from Africa when it broke away from Pangea. This park was were plate tectonics were shown to be correct, and this is why it is a world Heritage site.

Some plants, including moss pitcher plants, have adapted to the environment.

The way to and from The Tablelands skirts around another fjord, and is very beautiful.