Coal Age Forests
In the Upper Carboniferous Period, Nova Scotia had
a subdued topography of low hills separated by broad river valleys and freshwater lakes.
Vegetation flourished in the warm, moist climate. Some of the plants had large tops and
laterally spreading roots which were ideally suited to the forest swamp environment.
These plants grew densely in bogs and swamps along the floodplains, estuaries and
shorelines of lakes and possibly in coastal areas. Climbing, vine-like plants entwined the
trunks of large trees (30 m/98 ft high), unlike any found today. Shafts of misty sunlight
filtered through the rainforest canopy, glinting off the wings of huge insects that darted
between graceful tree ferns. Some of the earth's earliest reptiles scurried through the
undergrowth, avoiding predatory amphibians.
As the plants died and decayed, they became buried and compressed by new organic
material growing above. Some of these environments were stable for millions of years,
experiencing only gentle subsidence or rhythmic oscilations in elevation. In these
locations, tremendous thicknesses of organic material accumulated.
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