Thrombolites

Ever since Peter saw Thrombolites in Australia two years ago, Mr. Spock has been curious. In fact, ever now and then we hear from the back of the car, "Show me the Thrombolites." Today we were able to satisfy Mr. Spock's curiosity.

In Flowers Cove, there are two interesting hiking trails. The first is called Marjorie Bridge & Thrombolites Walking Trail. 

This bridge was constructed in 1906 and provided a way for the people of Flowers Cove to get off the island for school and church. It is called Marjorie Bridge, after the daughter of the man who built the bridge.

This is a bit of the write-up about Thronbolites from the sign by these formations.

Thrombolites or Living Rocks

These are critically endangered microbial structures. Thrombolite-building micro-organisms resemble the earliest forms of life on earth. These organisms were the only known form of life from 3.5 billion to 650 million years ago. These are some of the earth's most primitive life forms. Thrombolites (meaning clotted structure) are large bun shaped Cambrian mounds weathering out of flat lying dolostones. They were the growth form of millions of tiny algae and bacteria. These structures are not exactly fossils, but they are evidence for biological activity. These unicellular critters have left a good size trace of their existence in the fossil record. Thrombo, meaning clotted, indicates an internal structure without lamination.

These structures are very, very rare. One other place in which they grow is Haelen Pool in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Mr. Spock found them fascinating.

The darker colored, more rounded boulder on top of the "bun" is a glacial erratic, brought during the Pleistocene glaciation.

A panoramic picture of the Thrombolites along the beach.

The other trail is the White Rocks Trail, also in Flowers Cove.

These fractured rocks of clients (rock knobs) and grimes (deep cracks) provide a sheltered place for some endangered and threatened wild flowers; the same ones that were at Port au Choix. The endangered ones - Long's braya and Barrens willow - and  threatened - Fernald's braya - are very rare. Here and in Port au Choix are two of the four locations, also in Newfoundland, on the northwestern coast, where they are found. A little description on the trail said that a tree like the one above, can be hundreds of years old.

Traversing the White Rocks Trail.

See the little plants deep in the crack?

As is usual on a trail in Newfoundland, we walked through a tuckamore.