Road Trip Amherst to Joggins – UNESCO Fossil Cliffs

Amherst Joggins
45
km
0h48
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs on Chignecto Bay (the Bay of Fundy's northern arm) form one of the largest open books of Carboniferous life from 310 million years ago. UNESCO World Heritage since 2008, the site reveals a fossilized tropical forest — standing Lycopsid trees, Earth's first reptiles, the first air-breathing land vertebrates.

The world's highest tides (16 m at Burntcoat) constantly erode the 23 m cliffs, continually exposing fresh fossils. It's the only place on Earth where you can literally "walk in the Age of Reptiles" — Charles Darwin himself referenced it in On the Origin of Species.

The Joggins Fossil Centre, opened in 2008, hosts a world-class exhibit and low-tide guided beach tours. On the road from Amherst (the "gateway to the Maritimes"), stop at the Cumberland County Museum, Springhill (coal mines, Anne Murray museum) and Fort Beauséjour-Fort Cumberland (National Historic Site, Acadian frontier).

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Joggins Fossil Centre
    UNESCO centre, low-tide guided beach tours.
  • ✦
    310 Ma Cliffs
    Carboniferous fossil forest, first reptiles on Earth.
  • ✦
    Fort Beauséjour NHS
    Parks Canada historic site, 1755 Acadian frontier.
  • ✦
    Springhill Miners' Museum
    Coal mines, Anne Murray's hometown.
Practical info
  • Departure Amherst
  • Destination Joggins
  • Distance 45 km
  • Duration 0h48
  • Category Short (< 100 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
fossil unesco paleontology fundy geology education Family darwin

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