Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location Newfoundland, Canada
Nearest city Deer Lake
Coordinates 49°30′″N 57°47′″W / Expression error: Unexpected / operator, Expression error: Unexpected / operator
Area 1,805 km²
Established 1973
Governing body Parks Canada
Gros Morne National Park*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party Flag of Canada Canada
Type Natural
Criteria vii, viii
Reference 419
Region† Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription 1987 (11th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At 1,805 km² (697 sq. mi.), it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada (surpassed by Torngat Mountains National Park's 9,600 km²).

The park takes its name from Newfoundland's second-highest mountain peak (at 2,644 feet (806 m)) located within the park. Its French meaning is "large mountain standing alone," or more literally "great sombre." Gros Morne is a member of the Long Range Mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachian Mountains, stretching the length of the island's west coast. It is the worn-down remnants of a mountain range formed 1.2 billion years ago.

The Gros Morne National Park Reserve was established in 1973. It wasn't until October 1, 2005 that the National Parks Act was to apply to the reserve, thereby making it a Canadian National Park.

Geology

The park's rock formations, made famous by Harold Williams, include oceanic crust and mantle rock exposed by the obduction process of plate tectonics, as well as sedimentary rock formed during the Ordovician Period, granite from the Precambrian and igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic Era.

Western Brook Pond is a fresh water fjord which was carved out by glaciers during the most recent ice age from 25,000 to about 10,000 years ago. Once the glaciers melted, the land, which had been pushed down by the weight of the ice sheet, rebounded and the outlet to the sea was cut off. The 30 km long narrow "pond" then filled in with fresh water. The water in the fjord is extremely pure and is assigned the highest purity rating available for natural bodies of water. Pissing Mare Falls, the highest waterfalls in eastern North America, flow into Western Brook Pond.

The Tablelands, found between the towns of Trout River and Woody Point in Gros Morne National Park, look more like a barren desert than traditional Newfoundland. This is due to the ultramafic rock - peridotite - which makes up the Tablelands. It is thought to originate in the earth's mantle and was forced up from the depths during a plate collision several hundred million years ago. Peridotite lacks the usual nutrients required to sustain most plant life, hence its barren appearance. The rock is very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and has toxic amounts of heavy metals. Peridotite is also high in iron, which accounts for its brownish colour (rusted colour). Underneath this weathered zone, the rock is really a dark green colour.

Nature and wildlife

Along the coast are forests of stunted and twisted spruce and balsam fir trees, known locally as "tuckamores," battered by storms and winds blowing from the sea.

Wildlife in the park includes lynx, black bear, caribou, arctic hare, marten and a booming population of introduced moose. The coastal region supports whales and sea ducks including the Harlequin Duck.

World Heritage Site

In 1987, the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both its geological history and its exceptional scenery.