It's My Fault - The Dover Fault

Thursday, August 3, 2023 

Hi Blog!

We had a lovely stay in Harbour Breton at the bottom of the Connaigre Peninsula. On Tuesday, we moved up to Gander in Central Newfoundland. We are camped here this week so we can attend a performance of Come From Away on Friday. After spending Wednesday doing all sorts of chores and errands, we were eager to get out and explore on Thursday.

Not far from Gander is the town of Dover, which sits on the Dover Fault. Approximately 540 million years ago, a large ocean separated the western parts of Newfoundland from the eastern parts. The western portion of Newfoundland was part of Laurentia (North America). The eastern parts of Newfoundland were part of Gondwana (Africa/Europe). The wide ocean between eastern and western Newfoundland was known as the Iapetus Ocean -- the predecessor to the present-day Atlantic Ocean.

When the continents began to drift, the Iapetus Ocean began to close. Laurentia and Gondwana drifted closer together, eventually colliding. The two continents welded together to form a huge new continent:  Pangaea. The Dover Fault is where the two continents welded together. Eventually, more shifting happened, North and South America were formed, as well as Europe and Africa. Newfoundland became the island it is today; but, as Europe and Africa pulled away, they left a piece -- the eastern portion of Newfoundland. 

After arriving at the interpretation center, we arranged for a guided tour. Our teenage guide grew up in Dover, so we had a lovely time chatting.

Dave got diverted by tourist trivia, and, below, does his best Prospector Pete impression with the town of Dover in the background.

What is so cool about the Dover Fault is that it is a dividing line between what was once part of Europe and America. The collision was so intense it goes all the way down through the crust of the Earth. The fault zone has a width of 200 to 500 meters east-to-west, and, north to south, extends from Dover to Hermitage Bay on the south coast.

The white zone pictured below is where the two plates crushed into each other. The impact was so intense it literally created a new kind of rock.

We had fun playing with the rocks in the Interpretation Center. The American rocks are different types of granite as well as some gneiss. The Europeans rocks are mostly volcanic and sedimentary. The Dover fault zone has its own type of rock known as ultramylonite. This crushed rock is easily eroded. When the glaciers came over Newfoundland, a large valley formed along the Dover Fault Zone.

From the Fault overlook, you can see exactly where the fault zone was eroded -- in the center of the photo below behind the main part of town:

Looking the other way, it is hard to picture but the fault line runs along the land on the left side, all the way to Europe.

As you know, we never miss an opportunity to grab another set of red chairs!

Dover was also the site of a B-18 bomber crash during World War II. The plane took off from Gander, but one of the engines caught fire. The crew jettisoned it's two bombs over Saltwater Pond and made an emergency landing on the water just off the coast. The crew escaped with only minor injuries. However, the bombs are still out there somewhere.

As we walked along the hillside leading to the overlooks, out guide pointed out that the blueberries are just starting to ripen. Kathy did her best to find a few ripe ones for a mid-morning snack.

Since 2007, Dover has been actively trying to preserve its history. Families are encouraged to adopt a scenic spot. Some of the spots have memory chairs and murals depicting the history of Dover.

A scenic lighthouse was added to a point on Shoal Bay.

After chatting with a couple from Connecticut, we wandered over to the Dover Beach to do a little looking for sea glass. The seagulls kept us company.

You never know what you'll find when you start beach combing. Was this motor from a small boat or used to pull boats ashore? We sometimes leave the beach with more questions than answers.

For example, why are all these Christmas lights on the beach? Inquiring minds want to know.

The crescent shaped beach was just the right size for a quick walk up and back.

By the time we finished our stroll, we had quite a collection. Someday it will be made into something artistic like a wind chime or picture frame or fill a big bowl. That's for later. Now is the collection time.

We had a little trouble finding a place for lunch. Some of these towns are so small, they don't have even one restaurant. Other towns may have had one, but it didn't survive Covid. We eventually found the Dover Fault Cafe and Takeout. Being the only game in town, they were full when we arrived, but they made room for us. The menu is limited but the chicken wrap and burger were both great. There were so many fries we had to take some home with us.

As we finished lunch, we noticed some old photos on the wall. We recognized them from a video we watched on the relocation of homes during resettlement after the cod fishing industry collapsed.

During the early Twentieth Century the population of Dover grew from 157 in 1911 to 203 in 1921 as new families moved from such places as Shamber's Cove, and Newport. Between 1957 and 1961, a number of families from Silver Fox Island and Burnt Island settled in Dover during the government's resettlement program. This mural is a reminder of the resettlement.  You will see that it was based upon the lowest of the three black-and-white photographs on the wall of the restaurant, which are above:

As we left Dover, we made one last stop at Butchers Cove. 

If the weather holds, we hope to get the kayaks out on Gander Lake. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.