A tidbit of info. in a two part format, about the "Central Region", Island portion of our Province, Newfoundland & Labrador".....just one more tidbit of history on this region before they light up the skies with fire-works display to ring in the new year, 2004. beginning tomorrow December 31, 2003. ENJOY! The Dorset Trail The Baie Verte Peninsula is a land of complex geology and associated mineral deposits that underlie steep, thickly wooded hills. To reach it, continue east past Sandy Lake and Birchy Lake on Route 1 to the intersection with Route 410, The Dorset Trail. This highway is named for the Dorset Eskimos who lived - and quarried - here 1,500 years ago. Even earlier, the Maritime Archaic Indians inhabited the peninsula and may have exploited its minerals. But both the aboriginals and early European settlers came for fish, game, and timber. On Route 411, pass through Western Arm and on to Westport, which was the first permanent settlement on the peninsula. The forest here is regrowing following a fire some years ago, and the tender young growth makes ideal food for moose. There is a picnic park at the lighthouse, sea stacks, and rocky beaches. Then it's on to Purbeck's Cove, which may have been named for the white marble quarried nearby in 1891. The marble is similar to that found on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The quarry is accessible by boat. It's 35 kilometres back to Route 410. A bit further north, partially paved Route 413 branches off eastward toward Burlington, which was at one time the commercial centre of the peninsula, which at that time was called the Burlington Peninsula. There is a picnic site at the Indian Well and the Salmon Trail leads to a waterfall. At the end of the road is Middle Arm, where logging has been the main industry for much of this century. Head back to Route 410 and continue north to its intersection with Route 412. At the end of this road is Seal Cove and its sandy, boulder-strewn beach backed by forested hills. This is a good place to see icebergs. For the adventurous, you can walk to the top of the hills for a spectacular view, and for the really adventurous, why not bring along your hang glider for the trip back down. On the return trip, take unpaved Route 419 to Wild Cove. The road passes through some very rugged and pretty country to the small village. Then it's back to Route 410 and on to the hub of the peninsula, Baie Verte. This is another mining town that has known the boom and bust of that fickle industry. Asbestos was mined here in an open pit operation between 1963 and 1990. On the road into town there is a Wildlife Interpretive Centre. Since the economic lifeblood of the peninsula has been minerals, it's entirely appropriate that this town is the location for the excellent Baie Verte Miner's Museum. The museum is part of the Visitor Information Centre, and is connected to it by a short 'mine shaft' and its displays. Here you will learn the fascinating story of the many mines that operated in this area. The museum is actually built right over an abandoned copper mine. This Terra Nova Mine, as it was called, operated between 1860 and 1864, and again from 1901 to 1915. Some silver and gold were also mined there. The first rail line in Newfoundland was the five kilometre stretch between the five mine shafts and the dock that operated in the 1860s. Among the museum's displays are samples of virginite, a quartz-carbonate-fuchsite compound. The fuchsite, or chromium mica, gives the mineral its bright green colour. It is cut and polished and used for decorative purposes. There are displays on mining equipment, minerals, an 1860s miner's lamp, a kid's pit, a gold panning display, models and aboriginal artifacts. Outside is an old locomotive used at a mine many years ago. For rock hounds and mineral sleuths, the museum provides great detail for further exploration of the many mine sites and mineral deposits on the peninsula. Nearby, you can climb the hill at Rattling Brook for a spectacular view of a waterfall that plunges down into a boiling pool of spray. North of Baie Verte, at the end of Route 410, is Fleur de Lys and the oldest mine on the penninsula. Actually, it's a soapstone quarry (a protected archaelogical site) used certainly by the Dorest Eskimos and perhaps by the Maritime Archaic Indians. They hacked cubes of this soft mineral from a cliff face and used them to make cooking pots, bowls and seal-oil lamps. They also traded it with other groups. Lead, copper, zinc, and molybdenum were mined here in the early 1900s. On the return trip to Baie Verte, you can take a short side trip to Coachman's Cove, which was first settled by English, and later by the French and Irish. A hiking trial on the south side of the harbour leads to a picnic area. Further along the trail, you can walk to the lighthouse on French Island at low tide. Just past Baie Verte, Route 414 takes you to the northeastern part of the peninsula. Near the junction of Route 414 and 418 is the site of the now abandoned Rambler Copper Mine, which operated from 1904 to 1982. Some gold and silver was also mined here. At the end of unpaved Route 418 is Ming's Bight. Geologists are exploring this area for economically viable mineral deposits. There's a small beach, a waterfall, and trails. Ming's Bight was the site of Newfoundland's first gold mine, which operated from 1904 to 1906. Called the Goldenville Mine, it yielded only 158 ounces of the precious mineral. There is a marked trail to the mine site. Heading east you come to Route 417 and the communities of Woodstock and Pacquet. Woodstock has a small picnic park and an excellent salmon river. On the headland at Pacquet is a park with a magnificent view of the Horse Islands. A copper mine once operated here as well. Another side trip off Route 414 involves taking unpaved Route 415 to Nippers Harbour. The most striking natural feature in the community is a rock formation called The Lion, a granite outcrop. There is a Dorset Eskimo site here that is still to be excavated, and two old churches. An aboriginal burial ground is located on an island just offshore. The next side road is Route 416 to Snooks Arm and Round Harbour. The coastline between Snooks Arm and Nipper's Harbour has a number of abandoned communities, including Bett's Cove, site of the first ore smelter in Newfoundland at the old copper mine there. The mine operated from 1875 to 1885 when a landslide, caused by the removal of ore-rich pillars, ruined the site at the same time copper prices fell. Geologists visit the site for samples of chalcopyrite, iron pyrites. and other minerals. There are also some good examples of pillow lava in the area. To the north of Route 414 on an unpaved road are Harbour Round and Brent's Cove, a pair of fishing communities. Further east and off Route 414 along an unpaved road is Tilt Cove, where copper mines operated from 1864 to 1917 and 1957 to 1967. A prospector named Smith McKay explored the area in 1857 and noticed that fisherman Isaac Winsor was using a large piece of copper ore for ballast. Winsor showed him where he found it and mining began a few years later. Gold, silver, and nickel were also mined here. In 1897, one of a series of stamps issued by Newfoundland to commemorate John Cabot's landing 400 years earlier featured the Tilt Cove mine. It is believed to be the world's first mine motif stamp. The final two communities along this road are Shoe Cove and La Scie. La Scie was first settled by the French and was part of the French Shore. Its name means 'saw,' which refers to the jagged hills surrounding part of the town. There are many other places to see off the beaten track on the peninsula, and one of those is back almost to Route 1. It's a bit hard to spot at first, but there's an old logging road on the east side of Route 410 about two kilometres past the Black Brook Salmon Enhancement Project. About two kilometres from the main road is the spectacular double Black Brook Falls, which plunge over an escarpment to the river valley below. The Beothuk Trail The Green Bay Visitor Information Centre, which houses a craft shop, is located at the intersection of Routes 1 and 390. The staff can also tell you the best sites to spot icebergs. A side trip along Route 391 to King's Point. There is some farming in this area, and you'll see more of that as you proceed east into Notre Dame Bay. Hikers will be interested in the Alexander Murray Trail, a four-hour jaunt through some pretty rough country. There's a check-in at the start of the trail, which is named for a famed nineteenth-century Newfoundland geologist. At the end of this road is Rattling Brook, which has a picnic park that offers a good view of Green Bay. An unpaved section of Route 391 takes you to Nickey's Nose Cove and Harry's Harbour, with its natural coastal rock formations. Route 392 leads to St. Patricks from where you may take a ferry ride to Little Bay Islands. The main service community in Green Bay is Springdale on Route 390. In George Huxter Municipal Park you'll find a salmon ladder at Indian Falls. Some of the salmon heading up river are intercepted and transferred to the Black Brook Salmon Enhancement Centre on the Baie Verte Peninsula. Indian River and South Brook are good salmon fishing waters. Take Route 390 back to Route 1 and continue on to South Brook and Route 380, The Beothuk Trail, so named because this was an area of Newfoundland once occupied by the now extinct Beothuk aboriginal tribe. Archaeological discoveries at beachside in 1966 and in the Beothuk Trail area (Route 380) offer evidence of the presence of these aboriginal people. Each year when autumn came, the Beothuks would return to the interior of the island and settle on the shores of the Exploits River and Red Indian Lake to spend the winter. In late summer and fall, they would build deer fences on the banks of the Exploits to capture caribou from the herd as it made its migration. These fences were very similar to those erected by an earlier people, the Maritime Archaic Indians, which has prompted speculation that the Beothuks were the descendants of the earlier tribe. The hide and bones were used for clothing and tools, while the meat was smoked. Just past South Brook you'll see what residents of the area have named the upside down tree because of its inverted shape. Then it's along a high wooded plateau and down the northern slopes of the ridge of Crescent Lake, home of a legendary lake monster nicknamed Cressie. Robert's Arm is one of the larger communities in the area. In the town library is a mini-museum with Maritime Archaic Indian artifacts. This is a good base for exploring the settlements of Pilley's Island, Triton, and Brighton. From Pilley's Island you can also visit Long Island and the communities of Lushes Bight and Beaumont by taking the car ferry that operates year-round. To be continued: