The upper part of the bay bifurcates, splitting into Chignecto Bay in the northeast and the Minas Basin in the east. These tholeiitic basalts form a volcanic mountain range known as North Mountain. During its rupture, tholeiitic basaltic lava erupted, producing a sequence of continental tholeiitic basalts. The Fundy Basin is one in a series of these failed rifts. It is important to note that along these rifts, magmatic activity never stopped, as shown by the ongoing eruption of lava along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Where full rifting occurred, the Atlantic Ocean was created. These "aborted rifts" (rifts that are tectonically inactive and no longer collecting sediments) extend from Alabama to Newfoundland.Īlong certain basins, rifting was not partial. By definition, a basin is any area that collects sediments. Where only partial rifting occurred, basins formed. Many of these grabens were created, but for some of them, extension stopped before full rifting occurred. Chignecto Bay runs from the Bay of Fundy northwest between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which is separated from the waters of the Northumberland Strait by the Isthmus of Chignecto.Īs in all rifting environments, grabens formed. From the Bay of Fundy, the Minas Basin trends northeast to Nova Scotia. These arms meet at the Bay of Fundy, which is contained within the rift valley. It contains three sub-basins the Fundy sub-basin, the Minas Basin and the Chignecto Basin. The Fundy Basin is a sediment-filled rift basin on the Atlantic coast of southeastern Canada. The rift valley eventually failed as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge continued to separate North America, Europe, and Africa. As a result, much of the basin floor is made of tholeiitic basalts giving its brown color. Sections of the flood basalts have been eroded away, but still form a basaltic mountain range known as North Mountain. These flood basalts poured out over the landscape, covering much of southern Nova Scotia. As the rift began to separate from mainland North America, volcanic activity occurred, forming volcanoes and flood basalts. The focus of the rifting began somewhere between where present-day eastern North America and northwestern Africa were joined. The Bay of Fundy lies in a rift valley called the Fundy Basin which formed as the supercontinent Pangaea began to break up about 190 million years ago. Overlooking the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. The name "Fundy" is thought to date to the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese referred to the bay as "Rio Fundo" or "deep river." The bay was called Baie Française (French Bay) by explorer/cartographer Samuel de Champlain during a 1604 expedition led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts which resulted in a failed settlement attempt on St. In recent years the bay's greatest feature, its tides, have come into prominence as a potential source of hydroelectricity, but the complexity of the terrain make this development difficult. Dense forests line its shores and fertile agricultural land created by dikes, from its on-land marshes, complete the scenery. Steep bedrock cliffs form spectacular rock formations, some rising 60 meters (200 ft) high, surround the bay. The shores are misshapen with numerous coves and several large and deep water harbors. Both arms of the bay are macro-tidal and with 17 meters (56 ft) fluctuations, it has the highest tides in the world. Map of the Maritimes area, including the Fundy BasinĬovering 3,600 square miles (9,300 square km), the Bay of Fundy is well known for its tides.
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