Diligent River

Bay of Fundy Tides Continue to Expose Nova Scotia's Past

Responding to several reports of amphibian trackways spotted in the cliffs near Diligent River, Nova Scotia, Ken Adams (Director/Curator of the Fundy Geological Museum) visited the area and noted five remarkable sets of footprints, three with tail and body drags. Fern stems and fronds, load casts, tree rootlets, drag marks and rain drop impacts were also preserved on the surface of the rocks. The site provides a bountiful record of the palaeo-environment at the time the tracks were made.

The find was brought to the attention of the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History by the Myles McLellan family of Truro. Cody McLellan and his father noticed the prints while canoeing along the coast near Diligent River in the summer of 1997. Footprints had also been reported to the Fundy Geological Museum by Wayne Tibbetts, formerly of Diligent River.

The site is visually striking and the in situ combination of trackways and vegetation is exceptional. The fossils paint a detailed picture of plant and animal life in the early Upper Carboniferous Period and will provide insights into the relationships between amphibians and their early terrestrial habitats.

Important Sites Home	Fossils of Diligent River