Mistaken Point is among six Canadian sites named last week to UNESCO’s and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)’ top 100 geological heritage sites in the world.
Gros Morne was also named to the list.
Both sites, along with four other Canadian sites, were selected for their contribution to understanding the Earth and its history.
“Canada is home to an incredible array of natural and cultural heritage sites that can't be found anywhere else in the world, including some that detail the earliest days in the Earth's formation and evolution of its species,” said Steven Guilbeault, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
Mistaken Point, located between Portugal Cove South and Cape Race on the bottom of the Avalon Peninsula, has been described as the world's best example of fossils which illustrate a critical time in history, when life "first got big" in terms of the appearance of large, biologically complex organisms. It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2016.
Gros Morne National Park is said to contain one of the world's best exposures of the Moho, the boundary between crust and mantle rocks, preserved at the Earth's surface in a dramatic glacial landscape. It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1987.
The announcement of the first 100 IUGS geological heritage sites was made during the IUGS 60th anniversary celebration recently held in Zumaia, Basque Coast, Spain.
"Congratulations to the six Canadian sites selected among the first 100 IUGS geological heritage sites,” said Guilbeault. “These incredible places are sources of ongoing scientific research and discovery, and also serve as important contributors to local economies as unique, unparalleled tourism destinations. Internationally, these places represent the geo heritage of all humanity and the planet we call home."
The first 100 IUGS geological heritage sites were selected from 181 applications from 56 countries and include different types of sites and geological interest.
