"Acclaimed for its unearthly landscape, Woody Point is probably as close to Mars as you will ever get in this lifetime. Situated on the west coast of the island, the Tablelands behind Woody Point in the Gros Morne National Park are composed of peridotite — like much of the surface of Mars — and NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, plus others are studying this unique land form searching for insights into possible bacterial life on the red planet.
The story of the Tablelands earned Gros Morne its World Heritage Site status from UNESCO in 2010, and the area remains a geological wonder, showcasing a time when the continents of Africa and North America collided. When the plates struck 485 million years ago, the peridotite was pushed to the surface, and remained above sea level. The rock lacks the nutrients to sustain plant life, thus giving the Tablelands a barren, isolated appearance. As the name suggests, the flat topped mountains dwarf the tiny village (population 281!), yet Woody Point has retained its character and the historic houses and buildings dating from 1870 have been beautifully maintained."
tour Journey to the centre of the earth
"Explore the extraordinary, rocky Tablelands that gave Gros Morne National Park its UNESCO World Heritage status. This excursion gets you as close as possible to the mantle of the earth, and is of similar composition as one would expect on the surface of Mars; ancient mountain-building periods resulted in a huge chunk of the earth's mantle being deposited on the earth's surface. According to poets and geologists, at this site the earth shows her bones and you can wander the earth's interior. The heavy metals associated with these deep rocks are poison to most life forms; only select hardy plants are found here including some specialized species found nowhere else on earth except on similar landforms.
The Discovery Centre highlights the Tablelands together with the other geological and biological highlights of the Park. Your visit to the Discovery Centre introduces you to the people, history, landforms and geology of this internationally famous Canadian park. The center includes exhibits, a theater with ongoing presentations, a small gift shop and it features a view of Bonne Bay and a view of Gros Morne, the mountain after which the park was named".
WE had an incomprehensible guide , so were very disappointed, and we were not over impressed by the Discovery Centre either. But then we walked back alone to the ship - for up to an hour- and were overcome by the beauty of the surroundings.
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