by Keith and Heather Nicol
“I love my
office” grinned Ryan Young above the roar of the motor as we skipped over the
small waves of Trout River Pond. “This
southern part of Gros Morne National Park is undiscovered by many people and it
is too bad since it is a spectacular area.” We were doing a new Ocean Quest boat tour (http://www.oceanquestadventures.com/services/tourist/gros-morne-national-park)
that has started on Trout River Pond and we had to agree- Trout River Pond is
amazing since it is surrounded by steep cliffs 550-600 meters high and it is 15
km long. At times Ryan would stop the
engine and unroll excellent foam props to describe the action of tectonic
plates and the structure of the earth to help us understand how the unusual
landscape of Trout River Pond came into being. “This area was caused by the
collision of tectonic plates millions of years ago and for reasons that are not
well understood part of the ocean crust and mantle ended up on top of the land.
Subsequent glaciations stripped away rock and carved out this “fjord” and we
ended up with one of the best exposures of the earth’s mantle found anywhere in
the world. As you can see, plants haven’t adapted very well to this peridotite
rock of the earth’s mantle and that is why this area looks more like Arizona
than Newfoundland!” added Ryan. The
Tablelands of Gros Morne are truly amazing and their reddish brown colour seems
to change minute by minute as the light of the afternoon streaks between the
clouds. You can also explore the Tablelands on foot through various hiking
trails and you can learn more about the impressive geology of the park at the
Park Canada’s Discovery Centre in Woody Point.
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| Ryan discussing the earth's structure to explain the unusual geology of the Tablelands |
The lower Humber
River is easily the most scenic large river on the Island of Newfoundland and
now a new boat tour can show you the
sights. On a sunny Saturday we recently joined Charlie Foote who runs Humber
River Cruise for a tour of the lower section of the river. Our group consisted
of a couple from Clarenville as well as several other Corner Brook residents
and we set off from a small wharf in Steady Brook. Humber River Cruise uses a
pontoon type tour boat that can take up to 30 people. The seats are comfortable
and the vessel has a cover which keeps you cool on hot days and the water out
on rainy days. We steamed up river at first and had great views of the slopes
of Marble Mountain ski resort and you could even see the top of Steady Brook
Falls above the trees. We stopped at a small beach where Charlie says that they
offer BBQ’s on request and on a really hot day you could even go for a quick
dip from the sandy beach. The tour then heads downriver through the scenic
Humber canyon past Shellbird Island and the Man’s Face in the Mountain.
Depending on the tide there are often rapids at Shellbird Island but on the day
we took the tour the high tide minimized the turbulence in this section. We
turned around at Ballam Bridge and then headed back upstream. This canyon
section is interesting with caves carved into the limestone at the water’s edge
and the water eddies and swirls since it is contained by the steep rock walls.
The tour is about 16 km long and it takes 2 hours to do the tour although
custom trips can be arranged. Check out www.humberrivercruise.com for more
information.
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| Getting ready to tour the lower Humber River |
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