Green Point Geological Site

Green Point Geological Site is a coastal outcrop north of Rocky Harbour, where steep layers of ancient seabed rise above the coast. It's a rare place where a short visit puts you beside the rock sequence used to define the boundary between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods. If geology interests you, keep both the shore and the cliff-top paths in your plan; the story is split between close-up rock and the shape of the point.

These layers began as sediment on an ocean floor almost 500 million years ago. Today the beds lean sharply, exposing a long stack of shale and limestone. Fossils within that stack let geologists identify a precise moment in the history of life, not just a general change in the rock.

A short path leads to the shoreline for close views of the tilted beds, and a separate path above the point opens a view over the coast. Low tide is the best time to see the rock platform. Check the tide before you set out if the shore is the reason you're stopping; the cliff-top view still gives you the wider setting.

This is a good place to look slowly rather than plan a long hike. On the shore, the layers tip almost upright and break into ridges and slabs. From above, you can see how the exposed rock continues around the point. For a photo, get low beside the strata for their sharp angles, then take a second frame from the higher path to show the outcrop in its coastal setting.

The Cambrian–Ordovician line here isn't a broad stripe painted across the cliff. Geologists fixed it at a specific fossil horizon inside Bed 23, associated with the first appearance of the tiny marine fossil Iapetognathus fluctivagus. In the measured rock section, the boundary sits 101.8 metres into the sequence. You don't have to spot the fossil to appreciate the idea: a wall of tilted stone holds a boundary that scientists use around the world to mark the beginning of a new period.

The section is more than 400 metres thick, and its beds are tilted roughly 60 to 70 degrees. The International Union of Geological Sciences approved Green Point as the global reference for the base of the Ordovician in 2000. That makes this more than a pretty shore walk; it is a place where a visible landscape and a very precise scientific marker meet.

Green Point is off Route 430, about 500 metres north of Green Point Campground. Parks Canada describes a short shoreline path and a cliff-top path, but a precise route length and grade aren't published in the material checked. The agency warns about falling rocks and the cliff edge, so stay back from the rim and don't linger below unstable rock.

The campground is a separate stop; its services shouldn't be assumed at the geological site. Parking details, toilets, drinking water, accessibility features, and food at the outcrop weren't verified. If those matter to your stop, check with Parks Canada before relying on them. The tide is the useful planning detail here; there's no need to turn the visit into a long hike to understand why this coast matters.