Balancing Rock - Long Island, Nova Scotia
N 44° 21.793 W 066° 13.431
19T E 721215 N 4915964
Balancing Rock is an immense basalt column, approximately four feet wide and twenty feet tall, that stands alone after many like it have dropped back into the sea and the earth.
Waymark Code: WMR2XG
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 05/04/2016
Views: 8
The Balancing Rock - 200 Million Years in the Making
About 200 million years ago, during what geologists call the latest Triassic Period, molten rock, or lava, welled up from deep within the earth and poured through cracks at the surface. This event was part of the breaking up of the supercontinent Pangea and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. These lavas, in the future Bay of Fundy region, formed three separate units of basalt rock and are collectively about half a kilometre thick. The oldest layer of rock, on the bottom, and youngest layer, on the top, consisted of individual lava flows that cooled to form resistant rock. Between these two thick units is a middle layer formed of several thinner, gassy lava flows that formed more porous and less resistant basalt. These layers form today the North Mountain, Digby Neck, and the Islands.
Balancing Rock is part of the oldest, lowest, and most resistant basalt unit that erupted as more fluid lava and covered much of the Fundy area. When the lava stopped flowing and cooled, it cracked to form 5 to 7-sided column-like structures. Later tectonic forces in the crust accentuated and added to these fractures. Finally, weathering and erosion, especially from crashing waves of the bay, took advantage of the cracks to reveal columns such as Balancing Rock. The thousands of rocky columns that line this shore of St. Mary’s Bay formed in a similar way.
Balancing Rock has only recently become a destination for visitors, but was long known to the local fishermen sailing by. The story goes that a fisherman once tied a rope around the rock and tried to haul it off its perch – without success! He was no match for the forces that hold the rock in place. (One cubic metre of the basalt here weighs about 3 tonnes.
(From the information plaque at the site)
You must use the Petit Passage Ferry service to access this waymark.
At the beginning of the trail there is parking and basic washroom facilities. The trail is about 2.5 kilometers, most of it being fairly level and easy. Along the way you will come across woodlands and bogs before getting to the basalt cliffs. Be prepared for the 235 steps leading down the cliff side towards the end of the trail.
Waymark is confirmed to be publicly accessible: yes
Parking Coordinates: N 44° 22.059 W 066° 14.137
Requires a high clearance vehicle to visit.: no
Requires 4x4 vehicle to visit.: no
Public Transport available: no
Website reference: [Web Link]
Access fee (In local currency): Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
No specific requirements, just have fun visiting the waymark.