Nfld & Labrador - Gros Morne NP

 I climbed Gros Morne mountain in 2008, braved it past the "point of no return" and made it up to the top and back down.  True, it took us almost 9 hours and got the young people who were passing us left and right worried whether we'd make it.  They were clapping their hands when they saw us show up at the restaurant at the end of the trail.  When we landed at Woody Point to visit a different part of Gros Morne National Park, I had mixed feelings - glad we are seeing something new but a bit wistful that I couldn't see the stunning scenery again.

Gros Morne 

The Tablelands do not have the spectacular scenery of Western Brook Pond or Gros Morne Mountain but it has some significant geological history - formed 500 million years ago in the middle layer of the earth, beneath an ancient ocean.  It was the earth's mantle thrust up to the top when ancient continents collided, forming the Appalachian mountain chain which this is part of.  When we walked on the Tablelands, we were actually walking on the exposed mantle - to put it romantically, the "soul" of the Earth's core.  After 400 million years of erosion, we now have this barren, bizarre orange landscape with some unique plants and vegetation. Mind boggling how it all happened.

The Tablelands as seen from the trail

The Tablelands from a distance 

We were lucky to have a young, articulate Park Ranger who gave us the whole geological history and timelines in easy to understand language (Christina is a performing arts major turned Park ranger).  We did not have a very long hike but she pointed out many interesting plants and geological features.  Since we did not have the time or energy to climb the Tablelands anyway, the easy trail was good enough for me.  

The orange rocks we were walking on are called peridotite - igneous rocks, dense with iron, magnesium, nickel, cobalt and chromium; this rock is poisonous to many plants. The plants you see below are the special ones that can survive in this environment.  Peridotites are actually black but because they have been on the surface for so long, they have "rusted" (iron oxidizes) and so have an orange surface.  Break one open, and you can see the black core.  Amazing!

Peridotites

This is Sepentinite (named for the scale-like pattern on its surface) formed by the metamorphosis of peridotite (see closeup below)

 

There were some unique plants among the rocks!

Pearly everlasting

White bog orchid

Sprawling needle sunrose (rare)

Pitcher plant with flower

Butterwort (also carnivorous)

Hare bell

Alderberry

Fireweed

We spent some time visiting the Park Visitor Centre which further reinforced our understanding of the geological history of Gros Morne.  One of the Indigenous staff was leading a walkabout workshop in the garden about native medicinal plants.  It was very interesting but we had to leave midway to catch the shuttle back to Woody Point so we can get back to the ship.  Woody Point is very small but it has a lighthouse and a library!  👍👍

Woody Point main street

Woody Point including the lighthouse - from the zodiac

Gros Morne mountain and the Tablelands in one shot from the ship.  We said goodbye to this beautiful National Park and had our first iceberg sighting on the trip.