NS Landmark Named to Prestigious Geological Heritage Sites List
(FIVE ISLANDS) The βOld Wifeβ rock formation located at Nova Scotiaβs Five Islands Provincial Park, within the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark, was named to the Second 100 International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Heritage Sites list today at the 37th International Geological Congress in Busan, Republic of Korea. The prestigious list was a follow-up to the First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites announced in 2022, where Nova Scotiaβs Joggins Fossil Cliffs was first included.
The Old Wife is one of Nova Scotiaβs most striking coastal vistas, and one of the best exposures of a monumental event in Earth history β the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea 200 million years ago, and birth of the modern continents and Atlantic Ocean. As Pangea ripped apart, the greatest outpouring of lava in Earth history gave rise to one of the Five (or Six) mass extinction events in the history of Life, wiping out the competitors of the dinosaurs and ushering in the true reign of the famous reptiles.