Gros Morne National Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Gros Morne National Park
iucn_category = II

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caption = Location of "Gros Morne National Park" in Canada
locator_x = 254
locator_y = 143
location = flagicon|Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
nearest_city = Deer Lake
coords = coord|49|36|45|N|057|31|53|W|region:CA|display=inline|name=Gros Morne National Park
area = convert|1805|km2|sqmi|abbr=on
established = 1973
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Parks Canada
world_heritage_site = 1987Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Gros Morne National Park


State Party = CAN
Type = Natural
Criteria = vii, viii
ID = 419
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1987
Session = 11th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/419

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At convert|1805|km2|sqmi|abbr=on , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada (surpassed by the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve at convert|9600|km2|sqmi|abbr=on|disp=/).

The park takes its name from Newfoundland's second-highest mountain peak (at 2,644 ft/806 m) located within the park. Its French meaning is "large mountain standing alone," or more literally "great sombre." Gros Morne is a member of the Long Range Mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachian Mountains, stretching the length of the island's west coast. It is the eroded remnants of a mountain range formed 1.2 billion years ago.

The Gros Morne National Park Reserve was established in 1973. It wasn't until October 1, 2005 that the National Parks Act was to apply to the reserve, thereby making it a Canadian National Park.

Geology

The park's rock formations, made famous by Robert Stevens and Harold Williams, include oceanic crust and mantle rock exposed by the obduction process of plate tectonics, as well as sedimentary rock formed during the Ordovician Period, granite from the Precambrian and igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic Era.

Western Brook Pond is a fresh water fjord which was carved out by glaciers during the most recent ice age from 25,000 to about 10,000 years ago. Once the glaciers melted, the land, which had been pushed down by the weight of the ice sheet, rebounded and the outlet to the sea was cut off. The convert|30|km|mi|sing=on long narrow "pond" then filled in with fresh water. The water in the fjord is extremely pure and is assigned the highest purity rating available for natural bodies of water. Pissing Mare Falls, the highest waterfall in eastern North America and 199^th highest in the world [cite web|url=http://www.world-waterfalls.com/database.php?pageNum_wwdSearch=5&totalRows_wwdSearch=914&s=N&t=H&orderby=height&sortLimit=300|title=World Waterfall Database|accessdate=2008-09-25] , flow into Western Brook Pond.

The Tablelands, found between the towns of Trout River and Woody Point in Gros Morne National Park, look more like a barren desert than traditional Newfoundland. This is due to the ultramafic rock - peridotite - which makes up the Tablelands. It is thought to originate in the earth's mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several hundred million years ago. Peridotite lacks the usual nutrients required to sustain most plant life, hence its barren appearance. The rock is very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and has toxic amounts of heavy metals. Peridotite is also high in iron, which accounts for its brownish colour (rusted colour). Underneath this weathered zone, the rock is really a dark green colour.

Nature and wildlife

Along the coast are forests of stunted and twisted spruce and balsam fir trees, known locally as "tuckamores," battered by storms and winds blowing from the sea.

Wildlife in the park includes lynx, black bear, caribou, arctic hare, marten and a booming population of introduced moose. The coastal region supports whales and sea ducks including the Harlequin Duck.

World Heritage Site

In 1987, the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both its geological history and its exceptional scenery.

References

ee also

*National Parks of Canada
*List of National Parks of Canada
*Bonne Bay Marine Station
*Green Point

External links

* [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/grosmorne/ Gros Morne: A Cultural History]
* [http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/index_e.asp Park web site]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/sites/419.htm Gros Morne National Park at UNESCO.org]
* [http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/grosmorne.html Park webpage at Worldheritagesite.org]
* [http://www.townofwoodypoint.ca Woody Point - Town in Gros Morne]