Miguasha National Park, Canada

Outcrop of the Devonian bed rich in fish fossils in Miguasha National Park
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Miguasha_panorama_1.jpg
Author: Neumeier


Miguasha National Park, near Carleton-sur-Mer, on the southern coast of the Gaspé Peninsula in southeastern Quebec, is an important paleontological site in Canada. The national park, created in 1985, has one of the best examples of fossils from the Devonian Period, also known as the "Age of Fishes". Within Miguasha National Park, visitors can view specimens from five of the six fossil fish groups of the Devonian Period. This is because the park has one of the highest number and best-preserved fossil specimens of lobe-finned fishes, which scientists believe evolved into four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates.

Miguasha National Park was made a World Heritage Site during the 23rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 29 November to 4 December, 1999. The Committee also praised the Government of Canada for the quality of the assessment applied to this nomination, and noted it as a model for future fossil-related nominations.

Visitors to Miguasha National Park can visit the Miguasha Natural History Museum, where they can view its collection of over 9000 specimens of fossil fish and plants. The national park itself comprises coastal cliffs of grey sedimentary rock which are between 350 to 375 million years old. The forest here are composed mainly of birch, aspen and fir trees.

The first fossil was discovered here in 1842 by a geologist Abraham Gesner, who was also a pioneer in the petroleum industry. These early finds are now housed in the British Museum and the Royal Scottish Museum.

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 48 6 18 W 66 21 11 in Gaspé Peninsula, in the Province of Quebec, Canada
Inscription Year: 1999
Type of Site: Natural
Inscription Criteria: VIII

Visiting Miguasha National Park

Miguasha National park is at Chaleur Bay. You can reach it by taking Route 132 to Nouvelle. The Natural History Museum there opens Mondays to Fridays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from 1 June to 11 July; 9:00 am to 6:00 pm from 12 July to 22 August; 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from 23 August to 12 October, and from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm from 13 October to 18 December.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap