Mabou Mines Coast

Mabou Mines Coast
Photo 14 of 25: Mabou Mines Coast
Taken 2007 August 12 from the water off Finlay Point
GPS 46°08.5??'N 61°28.5??'W

About a third of this photo overlaps the previous one. Coal Mine Point is just left of centre and one can see the highlands further south along the coast. I have no idea what the right slanting white diagonal just right of centre might be; my best guess from looking at a magnified version of the original is that it is a chute made by running water and the white is gypsum powder that lines the chute, though it is entirely possible that this may be some artifact left over from the coal mining days (and the rocks just to the left look very like a coal seam). The slash down the slope at the far right is a power line; Mountain Road runs down the side of the mountain left of and parallel to the power line slash. The road itself is not visible here as it descends, being hidden by the trees which line this road and narrow the view from it to the north; before reaching the meadow near the bottom of the power line slash, the road turns inland towards Mabou Mines Road.

In this view again, it is very striking just how eroded the central cliffs are; the rock faces of the cliffs just to the right of Coal Mine Point appear to have been completely worn away and now appear to be nearly all exposed earth, though some vegetation has taken root on the cliff sides. There is a great pile of gypsum rock rubble on the shore below the gypsum face to the left of Coal Mine Point; it fell down a few years ago, having finally been pried away from the gypsum face by repeated attacks of wind, rain, ice, and frost. The cliff faces at the far right appear to be in somewhat better shape, though they too are showing considerable amounts of earth mixed in with the rock.