Gros Morne National Park is located on the west coast of Newfoundland and was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 due to its complex geology and remarkable scenery. It is the largest national park in Atlantic Canada at 1,805 km² (697 sq. mi.).

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

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.

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.

External links

• Gros Morne: A Cultural History
• Park web site