Joggins Fossil Cliffs

These magnificently exposed layers of rock reveal the world’s most complete fossil record of life in the “Coal Age” when lush forests covered Joggins and much of the world's tropics, 300 million years ago.The swamp forests produced massive quantities of organic matter that, over millions of years, created the coal deposits for which this period of history is named.Embedded in 15 kilometres of accessible coastal cliffs, rare fossils reveal details of life in the “Coal Age”. The classic coastal section at Joggins, Nova Scotia, is of outstanding universal value. It contains an unrivalled fossil record preserved in its environmental context, which represents the finest example in the world of the terrestrial tropical environment and ecosystems of the Pennsylvanian 'Coal Age' of the Earth's history.