Jardin des Glaciers / Seashell Deposits
Posted by: 
davidb1957
N 49° 19.219 W 068° 09.380
19U E 561310 N 5463407
This seashell deposit—the largest of its kind in the world—is located 80 metres above the current sea level.
Waymark Code: WMMFRQ
Location: Québec, Canada
Date Posted: 09/14/2014
Views: 12
It is over 10 m deep and over 180 m wide, and it extends beneath the forest floor for 275 m, representing a volume of around 495 000 cubic metres. A ten-wheeler would have to make around 64 000 trips to transport all those shells!
The seashell deposits of Baie-Comeau are not only vast, but also remarkably pure. This Deposit in particular, is 90% seashells and only 10% coarse sand. Nothing like it has ever been found.
We still don’t understand exactly how these deposits formed. At the time, Quebec and the rest of Canada were emerging from a long ice age and the climate was warming at a rapid pace. The ice cap melted very quickly and left behind a coastal area in which Earth’s crust had been depressed by the crushing weight of the ice. The sea was thus able, temporarily, to flood the lowlands adjacent to the current gulf. The seashell deposits would have been formed at that time.
That was the era of the Goldthwait Sea, a somewhat wider version of the current estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Although the seashell deposits can be found up to 90 m above the current sea level, they represent the shoreline area of this ancient postglacial sea.
As the ice retreated, Earth’s crust rose several dozen metres, leaving large seashell deposits where the former shoreline stood.
Waymark is confirmed to be publicly accessible: yes
Parking Coordinates: N 49° 17.433 W 068° 09.806
Access fee (In local currency): .00
Requires a high clearance vehicle to visit.: no
Requires 4x4 vehicle to visit.: no
Public Transport available: no
Website reference: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
No specific requirements, just have fun visiting the waymark.