Woody Point, Tablelands of Gros Morne National Park

14 July 2012.

Our ship moored in Bonne Bay off Woody Point.

The town of Woody Point, NL, population 400. 

View of the Tablelands from our ship.

Jane Thomson drives the Zodiac to Woody Point.
Diane Loeb is on the right.

At Woody Point we were welcomed by the mayor, early in the morning. We walked through the town and on a trail past wild roses, alders, orchids, and sheep laurel (Kalmia), to the Discovery Centre. (The flowers will have their own "post," when I've found out what most of them are.)

A resident of Woody Point 

The Discovery Trail, Tablelands behind.

UN, Canadian and Newfoundland & Labrador flags
at the Discovery Centre - Gros Morne is World Heritage site.

That's snow! The melting snow feeds waterfalls

"The park provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the Earth's mantle lie exposed. More recent glacial action has resulted in some spectacular scenery, with coastal lowland, alpine plateau, fjords, glacial valleys, sheer cliffs, waterfalls and many pristine lakes. The park comprises part of the Long Range Mountains on the Gulf of St Lawrence. The serpentine hills in the south-west (Tablelands) comprise ultra-basic igneous rocks, which, due to high heavy metal content, inhibit most plant life." 
These landscapes provided evidence of plate tectonics to researchers.

Kevin, Parks Canada guide, explains continental drift
and how the Tablelands formed from the Earth's mantle

Serpentine, a mineral containing magnesium, iron, silicate.
The lines are chrysotile (asbestos).

Gros Morne mountain to the northeast.

The high magnesium content of the mantle rocks hinders
plant life,  this is why it looks like a desert.

A number of steep sided, glacial valleys cut through the Long Range scarp face,
forming deep, oligotrophic fjords (with few plant nutrients, high oxygen content,
clear water), with vertical cliffs up to 685 m high. This was taken in the late evening
as we left Bonne Bay.

 In one day we only saw a very small part of the National Park - perhaps I will be able to return some time.

Back on the ship, Patricia gave a workshop on sewing Duffle socks, felt liners for kamiks, which can also be worn as slippers. Then Jimi and Ted talked about traditional Inuit clothing - first catch your polar bear... These three are among the Environmental Technology students from Arctic College, Iqaluit, who are accompanying us on the ship for their marine biology field trip. In ET they also learn survival skills, including traditional skills such as building an igloo.

Jimi wears sealskin kamiks and a summer parka. The soles
are bearded seal (tough) and the uppers are ringed seal.

Ted wears a summer parka and his polar bear pants,
after describing the polar bear hunt. His bear was a 9 foot male.

Zohra couldn't resist trying on the polar bear pants.

Kamiks