Mistaken Point

Mistaken Point is an exceptional fossil site on the southeast coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada, preserving abundant late Ediacaran macrofossils on bedding planes exposed on the shore. The site records an early chapter in the history of large multicellular life.

The coastal outcrops reveal hundreds of large impressions of soft-bodied organisms preserved in fine volcanic ash layers and sedimentary beds, offering unique information about Ediacaran ecosystems and organismal morphology. The fossil surfaces are among the most complete and diverse late Ediacaran assemblages known.

The deposits accumulated on the deep-sea floor during the late Ediacaran period, roughly 565 to 540 million years ago, and were later uplifted and exposed by geological processes. Scientific work at the site has established its global significance for understanding pre-Cambrian life.

The site lies on the southeastern tip of Newfoundland on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, exposed along rugged coastal cliffs and shoreline platforms.

• Age and scientific importance: fossils date to the late Ediacaran period, roughly 565 to 540 million years ago, and represent some of the earliest large multicellular life known
• Access and protection: visits to the reserve are managed and access to fossil surfaces is restricted to protect the deposits and prevent damage

What to See #

• Fossil-bearing surfaces: Extensive seacliff and foreshore bedding planes that preserve abundant impressions of large soft-bodied organisms from the late Ediacaran period, exposed at low tide and along coastal rock surfaces.