200 YEARS OF MINERALOGY AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO NOVA SCOTIA GEOLOGY

A timeline of mineral collecting activity in Nova Scotia was developed using digital archives of historical documents, historic geology maps of Nova Scotia, and new transcriptions of early letters and journals related to New England geologists visiting Nova Scotia. In 1822, Professor Parker Cleaveland (Bowdoin College) published the earliest formal description of minerals and localities in Nova Scotia based on information provided by Solomon Thayer. Transcribed letters from Thayer to Cleaveland describe the early mineral collecting trips in the Bay of Fundy, including historic sites of Partridge Island and Blomidon, and several historic mineral specimens have been relocated in the geology collection of Bowdoin College. Between 1826 and 1836, Charles Jackson and Francis Alger contributed important descriptions of the “Mineralogy and Geology of Nova Scotia”, produced the earliest geology map of Nova Scotia, and Alger’s work resulted in the earliest description of a Nova Scotia fossil, the giant trilobite Homalonotus from iron mines in Annapolis Royal. By the 1850s, Nova Scotia had become a destination for the academic mineral collectors, including the young Othniel C. Marsh who visited Nova Scotia three times during his summer vacations. Transcriptions of Marsh’s hand-written personal journal from Phillips Academy in Andover document the benefits and dangers of early mineral collecting in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy. By the 1860s, Professor Henry How, King’s College (Nova Scotia) and Rev. David Honeyman, the first Curator of the Nova Scotia Museum, further described the minerals and geology of Nova Scotia during the International Exhibitions in London (1862), Paris (1867), and Philadelphia (1876). Geologists from New England have played important roles in Nova Scotia geoscience, resulting in Evangeline’s Bay of Fundy becoming recognized as for world-famous locality for zeolites and agates. The 200-year history of sustainable mineral collecting in Nova Scotia is a consequence of the region’s geology and the constant erosion of the world’s highest tides. The region's unique geology and culture have recently been recognized with the establishment of the Cliffs of Fundy UNESCO Global Geopark, which provides ongoing opportunities for promoting public interest in geology and indigenous Mi’kmaq culture in Nova Scotia.