Gros Morne National Park Tuckamore, a Visitor's Guide 1 Cow Head Trail: S.Stone Trail: Cow Head Contact Information Table of Contents Gros Morne National Park of Canada 2 World Heritage P.O. Box 130, Rocky Harbour, NL 4 Great Experiences A0K 4N0 6 Scenic Drives [email protected] 8 Take a Walk www.pc.gc.ca/grosmorne (709) 458-2417 10 Great Small Adventures Campground 12 Boat Tours and Marine Reservations Encounters 1-877-737-3783 / (TTY 1-866-787-6221) 14 Interpretation: Explore with a park interpreter Swimming Pool 16 Trail Guide/Map (709) 458-2350 18 Camping Boat Tours Trout River Pond 20 Wildlife (709) 636-6727 22 Conservation Western Brook Pond 24 History and Heritage (709) 458-2016 / 1-888-458-2016 26 Cultural Crossroads Ferry Information/ 28 Friends Reservations 29 North of the Park Marine Atlantic 1-800-341-7981 30 Port Au Choix Strait of Belle Isle 31 L’Anse Aux Meadows (St. Barbe) 32 Red Bay 1-866-535-2567 33 Distance Chart Bus and Taxi Services Welcome to Gros Morne National Park Viking 430 Shuttle and Tours In 2011, Parks Canada is celebrating its 100th birthday! When the Dominion While here, why not take the Explorer Quotient Quiz™ that is available from a (709) 458-8186 / 3016 Parks Branch was created in 1911, it was the first parks service in the world. number of convenient locations throughout the park area? It’s a fun tool that What's in a name? Martin’s Transportation Gros Morne is proud to join Parks Canada’s family of national parks and will profile what kind of explorer you are according to your unique interests (709) 453-7269 / 2207 The name Gros Morne national historic sites to mark the centennial. Many special events are and values. Our visitor services staff will then have plenty of ideas to share dates back to a time Pittman’s Taxi planned so it’s a great time to discover our national park and UNESCO with you that are tailored to match your profile. when the French fished (709) 458-2486 / 7165 these shores. “Gros” World Heritage Site. means big, “Morne” Bonne Bay Water Taxi While some of Gros Morne’s attractions are world renowned, there are also (709) 458-2016 / is a Creole word for 1-888-458-2016 From conversations with friends and guests who visit Gros Morne, many wonderful areas both on and off the beaten track that could help make a small, rounded I’ve learned that there are as many different ways to discover this special your visit memorable. You will find that, like me, many people in the area also mountain standing alone. In French, morne place as there are people. One of my favourite experiences is the community have their own favourite places to go and things to do. The best way to get Emergency Numbers also means dismal or trail to the point of Cow Head, where I can sit, surrounded by the panorama their recommendation is to just ask them! gloomy. So, although Park Wardens 1-877-852-3100 of ocean and mountains. My children love how part of this trail tunnels Gros Morne probably through the dense coastal forest; it makes them believe elves live there. I invite you to find that special place that will help you to create a personal means “big isolated Police hill”, when clouds rake The walk ends on the point with some very out-of-the-ordinary geology. memory of Gros Morne. 1-800-709-7267 across the mountaintop And, many times, we have it all to ourselves! Jeff Anderson, Superintendent the gloomy description Hospital (709) 458-2201 often seems fitting. Because we all experience a place differently, our staff and partners are Ambulance (709) 458-3444 working to better understand how we can support different types of travellers (709) 898-2111 in discovering this place in their own way. COVER PHOTO, TROUT RIVER NARROWS: W.BARRETT 2 3 • Layers of Time COW HEAD CONGLOMERATE: M.BURZYNSKI Ghosts of a lost ocean, the shale layer of rock along the coast at Green Point contain fossils such as graptolites that help define the Cambrian and Ordovician Seven Wonders periods. Within Gros Morne, there are individual wonders that A World Heritage Site contribute to our • Undersea World Heritage Site E K C Avalanches designation. Throughout the countries of the Earth, World Heritage Sites exemplify the beauty and richness G.LO : Thick beds NT Shallow Bay of our planet, and the history and accomplishments of humankind. As examples of the common POI of limestone How many will you visit? REEN conglomerate at Cow heritage of humanity, they are some of the most important places on Earth. They transcend nations, G and remind us of our responsibility towards our planet and our fellow humans. Head, worn by waves GULF OF Cow Head into rugged shelves ST. LAWRENCE and cliffs, record the MYERS . R catastrophic collapse : FFS of a tropical reef. I T.MIKO CL Broom OOK BR Point St. Pauls Inlet ESTERN W Wes NE te O rn T • Former fjords B r o : S.S : o Glaciers carved the massive K k P ond cliffs of Western Brook Pond, as ice bit through this 1.2 billion-year-old block of granite Green and gneiss, on their slow path The landscape of Gros Morne Geologists are able to show that 420 More recently in geological terms, GREEN GARDENS STAC Point to the sea. 430 tells the story of the Earth’s to 570 million years ago, the rocks in glaciers carved this place into the • Volcanic transformation. The rocks of Gros Morne were part of an ancient spectacular landscape we see today Coastline Gros Morne National Park and ocean. Later these were thrust up and thus exposed the rocks for The rocks of Green Gardens erupted the adjacent parts of western to become part of the Appalachian scientific study. This qualifies Gros • Ancient continent onto the Earth as a The Long Range Mountains Newfoundland provide some of Mountains as two continents Morne National Park’s designation continent split apart Rocky Harbour endure as a fragment the world’s best illustrations of collided. These rocks give support as a World Heritage Site under and an ocean formed of the great Canadian plate tectonics, one of the most for the theory of plate tectonics and criteria (vii) and (viii) for its: more than 600 million Bo nn Visitor e Shield. These Precambrian important ideas in modern science. have provided important insights years ago. B Centre a • “exceptional natural beauty”, and y mountains once bordered For this reason, the United Nations into how this process works. an ancient ocean, but are Education, Scientific, and Cultural • “outstanding examples now land-locked and ground organization (UNESCO) designated representing major stages of Earth’s Discovery down by time and ice. the park a World Heritage Site in history”. Trout Centre River 1987. LONG RANGE: S.STONE NE Some of the early ideas of plate tectonics were first developed by researchers who had O T 431 worked in Newfoundland, Gros Morne and the adjacent areas. S.S : N I unta O M RNE MO Park S O Entrance R G PANORAMA FROM NORRIS POINT: S.STONE • Ocean floor upturned WORLD HERITAGE AUDIO DOCUMENTARY earth and the process of plate tectonics. The The Tablelands are a slice of ancient • Tropical Sea Floor BONES OF THE EARTH program is available for download from the park ocean floor. The orange-brown rock, Around Bonne Bay, the pink NE O called peridotite, is one of the best and During this new one-hour audio documentary, the website, and is a perfect companion for a drive T quartzite mountaintops and voices of geologists, community residents, artists through the park. most accessible examples of exposed limestone cliffs were sandy mantle material in the world. and poets reveal the meanings of the landscape beaches and tropical reefs and rocks. This audio journey brings you through that formed the shoreline and TABLELANDS: S.S TABLELANDS: Gros Morne’s significant geological features, continental shelf of this ancient ocean. building the grand story of the evolution of the 4 5 FREE SPIRIT PERSONAL HISTORY TRAVELLER Something of a thrill-seeker, travel satisfies You travel to gain a deeper understanding of What kind of explorer are you? your insatiable need for the exciting and the your ancestry and heritage. Your travel tends exotic. Young, or young-at-heart, you want to to be a shared experience, both during and Take the Quiz, it’s fast and fun! be with others who feel the same way. after the trip. Parks Canada and the Canadian Tourism Commission want you to discover more about this country, as well • Hike to the highest point in the park – • Chat with a fisherman-interpreter at the as a little bit about yourself. the top of Gros Morne Mountain. restored fishing station at Broom Point. • Celebrate with new friends at a pub night • Immerse yourself in the past at the Lobster Visit www.eq.canada.travel or stop by the Gros Morne Visitor Centre or Discovery Centre to take or traditional kitchen party. Cove Head Lighthouse history exhibit. the quiz and receive some suggestions for your type of explorer. GENTLE EXPLORER You like to return to past destinations and VIRTUAL TRAVELLER enjoy the security of familiar surroundings. Tending not to travel very often, you prefer the You appreciate convenience, relaxation and comforts of home to the uncertainties of new typically look for all the comforts of home. places or cultures.