Written in Granite

The exposed granite along Peggy’s Cove’s coast holds evidence of events separated by hundreds of millions of years. Its broad, rounded surfaces, deep fractures, and scattered boulders record the formation of rock beneath an ancient mountain range and the much later passage of glaciers. Understanding these features turns the shoreline into a visible record of geological change.

Glaciers subsequently reshaped the exposed bedrock. As ice moved across it, sand and stones trapped beneath the glacier acted as abrasives, scraping and polishing the granite. Larger fragments cut grooves into its surface. These marks can preserve the direction of ice movement, while the rounded contours show the cumulative effects of glacial erosion.

The glaciers also transported rock. Fragments loosened from the bedrock became incorporated into the ice and were carried away from their original positions. When the ice melted, it left boulders resting on the landscape. Known as glacial erratics, these displaced stones are another record of the glacier’s movement and carrying power.

Different features reveal different parts of this history. The granite itself records cooling deep underground. Its polished surfaces and scratches record abrasion beneath moving ice. The scattered boulders mark material carried and deposited by glaciers. Across the rocky shoreline, these traces make processes that unfolded over immense spans of time visible at the surface.