The impressions of 620-million-year-old soft-bodied creatures have been found off the south-eastern coast of the Avalon Peninsula. Volcanic activity fossilized in great detail millions of marine organisms. The tiny Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve protects them and a host of fossils that represent perhaps 20 different kinds of deepwater creatures. These impressions are among the oldest multi-cell fossils in the world and are of such scientific import that efforts are being made to have the site declared a World Heritage Site.

The reserve is about 3 miles long, but the critical portion of it is not much bigger than a couple of basketball courts. There are no hiking trails, but a well-worn unmarked path leads 1.2 miles from the gravel access road to the fossil beds.