Tablelands photo from Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism  

One of only two places where mere mortals can walk on the Earth’s mantle, Tablelands in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland is momentous. The mantle is the layer of semi-molten rock beneath the Earth’s crust, so…not a good walking place. Geologists across the globe are eternally grateful for the epic subterranean event that shoved a fair-sized chunk to the surface in Newfoundland, allowing us to get better acquainted with that globe.
Having driven thousands of miles to get there, Steve and I were accustomed to raising eyebrows when we said we’d come from Colorado. The Tablelands crowd was different. Our little tour group included visitors from California, France, Beijing, and Australia.

Tablelands looks rusty because it is. High iron content also discourages plant life.  Photo from NewfoundlandandLabrador.com.

The experience is so momentous for geo geeks that the tour guide assured us that our lives would now be divided into BT–Before Tablelands, and AT–After Tablelands. I have to admit it didn’t make quite that much of an impression on me, but the tour was excellent, and I do feel closer to Mother Earth after sharing on a deeper level.

Tablelands serpentine rock

Tablelands olivine rock