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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