Field Trips
Fieldtrip to the Newfoundland August 4–12, 2025
We are excited to announce an upcoming subcommission trip to the Ediacaran sections of Newfoundland. The purpose of our visit to the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is to investigate the geology and paleontology of the region to evaluate the likelihood that we could assign a major subdivision of the Ediacaran period within the reserve. Our field trip will be led by friends of the Subcommission including Guy Narbonne, Alex Liu, and Tara Selly, and will be divided into three components:
1. Bonavista Peninsula
A four-day trip (August 4-7, 2025) to the Bonavista Peninsula – Led by Alex Liu, Andrea Mills, and Dave Lowe. Maximum of 30 delegates.
- Day 1 - glacial sections on the Avalon and Bonavista peninsulas + fossils of Spaniard’s Bay
- Day 2 - Trinity diamictite, and pre-glacial sedimentology of the Monk Bay facies.
- Day 3 - Discovery Geopark (Catalina Dome)
- Day 4 - Musgravetown Group, and possible Cambrian context, return to St John’s.
2. Colinet Islands
August 8, 2025. A one-day trip by boat to the Mall Bay to Drook succession at the Colinet Islands - Led by Guy Narbonne and Danielle Fitzgerald. Maximum of 10 delegates because of limited space on the boat. *note that delegates participating on both trips but not attending the Colinet trip will get a free day in St John’s (with the option of exploring some of the geology of the region, e.g. Signal Hill). Depending on the number of participants, a field trip leader may be available to help with this. In any case, St. John’s is a wonderful city to explore.
3. Avalon Peninsula
A four-day trip (August 9-12, 2025) to the Avalon Peninsula – Led by Guy Narbonne, Alex Liu, and Marc Laflamme. Maximum of 30 delegates.
- Day 1 - glacial sections of the Gaskiers at Harbour Main and St Mary’s, and St Shott’s
- Day 2 – Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve UNESCO World Heritage Site fossils and stratigraphy of the Drook to Briscal formations
- Day 3 - Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve UNESCO World Heritage Site fossils and stratigraphy of the Mistaken Point to Fermeuse formations
- Day 4 - Ferryland and east coast localities to see the top of the stratigraphy and consider basin evolution. Return to St John’s early that evening.
We will be using a school-bus or equivalent for transportation purposes while all overland transport within the reserve will be via walking trails. Shared accommodations have been secured (except for your time in St. John’s), and we are anticipating a cost of $1000-$1200 USD per trip (so double this if you wish to attend both 4-day trips) which will include hotel accommodation, breakfast, boxed lunches, and all transportation. Space is limited, so please reach out to me should you like to attend the trip in August 2025. We are currently working on securing a direct payment website so stay tuned!
Fieldtrip to Bambuí Group in Minas Gerais, Brazil November 2023
In late November 2023, the Ediacaran Subcommission, together with members of the Cryogenian and Cambrian subcommissions, held a field meeting to explore the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Bambuí Group in Minas Gerais, Brazil.