Mistaken Point in Newfoundland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another listed site in Canada is The Rideau Canal, which encompasses Kingston sites like Fort Henry and Murney Tower. The Point’s unique collection of unusually preserved fossils makes it infamous. The fossils have not been discovered anywhere else in the world!

The Miller Museum of Geology features an exhibition on Mistaken Point. The display includes a large cast suspended on the wall with imprints of the first single-cell soft-bodied creatures that inhabited earth (pictured above). This is type of fossil is incredibly rare due to the soft-bodied nature of the species. Generally, this type of creature does not fossilize. In this circumstance, a layer of fine volcanic ash blanketed the fossils on expansive plains of land. What remained was imprints of what the sea floor would have resembled approximately 565 million years ago!

Mark Badham, the curator of the Miller Museum when I visited, was an incredible resource with worlds of knowledge about fossils, minerals, and all things geology. The Miller Museum of Geology is a hidden gem inside Miller Hall on Queen’s University’s campus. Aside from fossils from Mistaken Point in Newfoundland, the Kingston museum includes dinosaur fossils, an extensive mineral and rock collection, and the geological history of Kingston and the surrounding area. Visit today and discover fossils at Mistaken Point and so much more right here in Kingston!

Learn more about the Miller Museum of Geology on their website!

If you would like to learn more about the Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites of Kingston and the Area start by exploring the spaces around you!