unearth wonder.
potential geoparks
NIAGARA ASPIRING GEOPARK
Building on a fascinating geologic foundation over 500 million years old, with world-renowned Niagara Falls as its beacon, the Niagara Peninsula Aspiring Geopark takes its cues from what Indigenous peoples have been doing here for thousands of years; meeting, trading, sharing stories, harvesting food and establishing a strong family and cultural ties.
The Geopark is a non-regulatory, non-profit entity that benefits all Niagara residents, educational institutions and business operators by fostering regional, provincial, national and international tourism, developed in such a manner and at such a scale, that it remains viable indefinitely while safeguarding the Earth's life support systems on which the welfare of current and future generations depend
Status : project accepted by CCUNESCO, awaiting international evaluation by the IGCP Scientific Board. Aspiring Geopark since May 2024.
CABOX ASPIRING GEOPARK
Cabox Aspiring Geopark is currently located in Western Newfoundland; however its origins can be traced back to the Tropics, where 500 million years ago it lay at the eastern edge of the landmass that would become North America. Its unique geological record spans the closing of the proto-Atlantic Iapetus Ocean and formation of the Appalachian Caledonian Mountains.
From the Little Port Island Arc and Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex to the Transported Continental Margin and Ancient Continental Slope of Laurentia, the region at the core of the Humber Arm Allochthon exhibits both the geologic and academic story of plate tectonics and associated mountain building processes. Significant geological features include ophiolite massifs composed primarily of ultramafic peridotite from the earth’s mantle and mafic gabbro from the ocean floor, as well as sedimentary folds, faults, thrusts and synclines composed of bedded limestone, sandstone and breccia from the continental slope and shelf.
Fast-forward to the mid-18th century when renowned surveyor, cartographer and explorer James Cook drew an outline of the region, which prominent geologists, including Alexander Murray, James Howley and Harold Williams proceeded to "color” in. In 1978, Williams published his Tectonic Lithofacies Map of the Appalachian Orogen, which described and delineated the Appalachian Mountains, from Georgia to Newfoundland.
Status : awaiting CCUNESCO submission.