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Mistaken Point

Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State Party.

Canada (Europe and North America)

Date of Submission: 01/10/2004
Criteria: (viii)
Category: Natural
Submission prepared by:
Parks Canada Agency
State, Province or Region:
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Coordinates:
N46,62 W53,17
Ref.: 1942

Description

Located on the rugged coastline of the Avalon Peninsula, Mistaken Point and its Extension Ecological Reserves contain the oldest evidence known of early multi-cellular life on the planet. Here, Ediacaran fossils of an age estimated at 560-575 million years have been found in the rocks of two ecological reserves. Thirty species of soft-bodied animals have been preserved in situ by volcanic ash falls that covered the sea floor. Many thousands of complete specimens have been preserved on exposed bedding surfaces, providing the earliest and most complete record knowing of Eliacaran multi-cellular life. The fossils at Mistaken Point provide a window into the early colonization of the deep-sea floor.