Government of Canada congratulates six Canadian sites named to list of the first 100 geological heritage sites by the IUGS and UNESCO

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.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, congratulated the six Canadian sites named to an international list of the first 100 geological heritage sites. This new international designation acknowledges iconic locations around the world, recognized for their relevance and impact in understanding the Earth and its history.

The six Canadian sites among the first 100 geological heritage sites include five World Heritage sites, two of which are administered by Parks Canada. The sites named to the list are:

· Mistaken Point (Newfoundland and Labrador). The world’s best example of fossils which illustrate a critical time in the history: when life “first got big” (the first appearance of large, biologically complex organisms). Inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2016.

· Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland and Labrador). 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. First inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1987.

· Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia). The world’s best and most complete known fossil record of ‘Coal Age’ tropical forests and Earth’s earliest known reptiles. Inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2008.

· Eo-Archean Nuvvuagittuk Greenstone Belt (Quebec). Located on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, this site features some of the oldest rocks on Earth and potential traces of early life.

· Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta). The greatest concentration of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils yet found on Earth yielding remains of 44 species of dinosaurs and many other organisms. First inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1979.

· Burgess Shale (British Columbia). One of the most significant fossil areas in the world featuring a diverse, abundant marine community dominated by soft-bodied organisms. Part of Yoho National Park, the Burgess Shale was originally inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1980. It became part of the larger Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site in 1984.

The list of geological heritage sites is the initiative of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The announcement of the first 100 IUGS geological heritage sites was made during the IUGS 60th anniversary celebration recently held in Zumaia, Basque Coast UNESCO Global Geopark (Spain).