Fossils
In addition to a magical place for the young-hearted nature lover, The Rocks are home to a protected fossil site, remnants of life dating back 500 million years. Terry Fletcher writes,
"Since the description of the Cambrian trilobite, Paradoxides Bennetti Salter, 1959 from Wester Cove, Branch has become well known for the remains of primitive animals in the rocks of the cove. The most notable feature of these rocks is their bright red and green layering. Such layering represents the vertical pile of iron-rich sand, silt and mud layers deposited on the bed of an ocean during the Cambrian Period of Earth history. These layers contain the buried skeletal remains of animals that lived on the sea bed, as well as those that swam around in the overlying waters about 500 million years ago."
Branch Cove Fossiliferous Rocks are located in the cliff and shore exposures starting from Branch Head at the south entrance of Branch Cove, and along the cliffs into Easter Cove, towards the more settled area of the Town of Branch. The municipal heritage designation includes the exposed cliff face and the shorelines beginning at the highwater mark at Branch’s boundary at Branch Head and ending with the locality of the fossiliferous rocks at the Easter Cove. The continuous area between these points encompasses geological layering and localities of fossiliferous rocks such as those at the Green Gulch, Wester Cove and is included in the designation. Branch Cove Fossiliferous Rocks have been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Branch because of their scientific value.
The heritage value of the Branch Cove Fossiliferous Rocks Site resides in the scientific information it reveals. The site was first studied in 1959, and is of paleontological and geological interest.
The fossiliferous rocks at Branch Cove were created by layers of sand, silt and mud deposits during the Cambrian Period of Earth history. These layers contain the fossilized skeletal remains of primitive animals that lived on the sea bed or swam the sea waters about 500 million years ago. These layers formed over hundreds of years, so that each layer contains a different selection of fossils, creating a record of the evolution of Cambrian animal life.
The succession of fossiliferous rocks around Branch Cove is reportedly the only occurrence of this type in Newfoundland providing a complete record of the Cambrian Period. Although not as unique as once believed on a worldwide scale, this particular succession of fossiliferous rocks is still considered to be a major sequence of international importance.
