Red Earth, Deep Time (A Natural History of Prince Edward Island)

Prince Edward Island has a story to tell—if you know how to read it.

Just as buildings, cemeteries, and placenames tell of human history, the land itself records a much older story: natural history. This tale starts long before people—or even dinosaurs—existed. We read it in 290-million-year-old sandstone that records a climate and landscape very different from today. We see it in glacial erratics, drowned forests, and ancient pollen that document the end of last Ice Age some 13,000 years ago. And we find it in today's fields and forests, which reveal how this land has changed over the past few centuries. Evidence of natural history is everywhere on PEI, and naturalist Kate MacQuarrie helps you see it.

Join Kate on a journey through time and place while learning to read sandstone, recognize glacial landforms, and unravel the mysteries of coastal change. Along the way, you'll discover which birds and mammals once called PEI home, what happened to them, and why others were later introduced. By the end, you'll have a new understanding of this Island and a deep appreciation for how events of the distant past shape modern-day land use.

Whether you know PEI well, or are encountering it for the first time, Kate will teach you something new, interesting—and even surprising—about this unique place.