Five Islands

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Moose Island, Diamond Island, Long Island, Egg Island, Pinnacle Island: these five islands give the community here its name.  This image was taken in 2017.

 

Below is the scene at high tide, taken in 2014. On Oct. 19, 2015, the hole on Long Island collapsed.

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Mi’kmaq legend says these five islands were created when Glooscap threw mud, sticks, and stones at the pesky giant beaver who dammed his medicine garden in Advocate. One of these islands trapped the beaver and turned it into gold. No, gold has not been found here, though during magic light, visible parts of cliffs may look like they are made of gold.

This is along the Bay of Fundy, so one can see the highest tides in the world in action, and when the tide goes out, one is walking on the ocean floor. The geology is remarkable. The basalt one can see in the cliffs and rock features was formed by lava spilling out of the earth as Pangea, the ancient supercontinent, broke up, and this basalt is sitting on Triassic-age sandstone.  The Triassic Period was 253-210 million years ago.

For scale, you can see a few people in ATVs out on the beach in the first pano, digging clams.

 

The first pano is comprised of 30 images, with 40-50% overlap; the second, 23 images.  This scene was shot from the Five Islands Lighthouse Park.  Five Islands Provincial Park can be seen to the left of the image, and allows one to walk along those sandstone and basalt cliffs.  Both areas are worth a visit.

 

A caution on all ocean beaches and especially beaches along the Bay of Fundy: be aware of tide times.  When the tide comes in, it can come in much faster than one might expect.  For longer walks, it’s always smart to start walking as the tide is still going out, while keeping an eye on where you are when the tide turns.  You want to make sure you have lots of time to get back to where you need to be at high tide.

 

Some links that may be of interest:

General.

Minerals of Five Islands.

Fundy Geosites.

 

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