Malpeque Bay: Rockhounding in Rural Municipality of Sherbrooke, Prince Edward Island

About Malpeque Bay

Malpeque Bay on Prince Edward Island's north shore holds Iron Rock, the only place on the island where igneous rock forms native bedrock; every other igneous stone on PEI arrived in glacial ice. The rock is an alkaline sill roughly 247 million years old that intruded the island's red sandstone before the breakup of Pangea. Calcite is recorded from Malpeque Bay, and paratacamite, a copper chloride, is reported from nearby PEI localities. The sill area, rich in Mi'kmaq archaeological sites and old-growth forest, falls within the proposed Pituamkek National Park Reserve.

PEI Untamed: Iron Rock, Malpeque Bay →

Quick details

Access

Check locally

County

Rural Municipality of Sherbrooke

Province

Prince Edward Island

Nearest road

Locke Shore Road

Postal code

C1N 4J8

Coordinates

46.44528, -63.77378

Land & collecting status

Confirm rules before collecting

Land status here is not confirmed. National and provincial parks prohibit collecting, while Crown land and many beaches allow it. Verify with the managing agency before you collect.

Collecting rules in Canada are set provincially and by land owner. Crown land and many public beaches allow casual hand collecting, while provincial and national parks are off-limits. Confirm the rules for this site before you dig.

Found at Malpeque Bay

• CalciteEncyclopedia →
• ParatacamiteEncyclopedia →