Cambrian-Middle Ordovician Platform-Slope Stratigraphy, Palaeontology and Geochemistry of Western Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador is located on the eastern edge of North America (Figure 1). The
\nisland of Newfoundland, known to it’s friends as “The Rock”, lies off the east coast of the North
\nAmerican mainland, and is the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland
\nand Labrador. The island is only 29% of the total province's land area (111,390 km2), but is still
\ncomparable to the size of the three maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
\nPrince Edward Island combined.
\nThe island is separated from Labrador by the Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf of St.
\nLawrence. Newfoundland's nearest neighbour is the French colony of Saint-Pierre and
\nMiquelon, which lies opposite the GSSP for the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary at Fortune on the
\nBurin Peninsula (where one of the post-conference field excursions associated with ISECT 2017
\nwill go).
\nThough Newfoundland and Labrador is larger than some countries, it has a small population
\nof 510,000, around half of whom live in the greater St. John's area. The Communities of Rocky
\nHarbour and Norris Point are enclaves within Gros Morne National Park, and form a rich local
\nscientific and artistic hub on the west coast of Newfoundland. Many of the localities we visit
\nwill be within Gros Morne National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Collecting and
\nhammering is not permitted at these localities. Your guides will be explicit about when you are
\nwithin Gros Morne National Park.The terrain of Newfoundland and Labrador varies from arctic tundra, ancient mountain
\nranges, lush boreal forest to rugged coastline.
\nIn Gros Morne National Park you will see the direct evidence for plate tectonics, and get a
\nchance to step on rocks from the earth's mantle. The presence of the ophiolite is one of the reasons for Gros Morne National Park’s existence, as it was the first place that field evidence for
\nplate tectonics was demonstrated.
\nOn the east coast of Newfoundland, where many of us will go for the formal meetings of the
\nEdiacaran and Cambrian commissions, there are other sites of enormous scientific importance.
\nThe spectacularly preserved Ediacaran fossils found at Mistaken Point provide important
\nevidence for the earliest evolution of macroscopic animal life. The importance of those fossils to
\nthe understanding of animal evolution has very recently led to the site being designated as the
\nprovince of Newfoundland and Labrador’s second UNESCO world heritage site (in 2016).
\nGeological Setting
\nNewfoundland is the most north-easterly part of the Appalachian Orogen in North America.
\nThe rocks of the Appalachian Orogeny extend along the whole eastern margin of Laurentia. The
\nAppalachian fold-belt is subdivided into three lithotectonic subdivisions (Hibbard et al. 2006,
\n2007) named the Laurentian, Iapetan, and the peri-Gondwana realms. The three realms can be
\ntraced throughout the entire orogen, extending from Newfoundland in the northwest to Alabama,
\nUSA in the south (Figure 2).
\nThe Laurentian realm comprises the sedimentary rocks that deposited either on or adjacent to
\nancient North

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