Left Behind by an Ancient Sea

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Roughly 350 million years ago, much of what is now Nova Scotia was covered by a vast tropical ocean known as the Windsor Sea. As the ocean receded, it left behind some of the world’s largest deposits of gypsum. Gypsum is used in products like gyproc (wall board), dental plaster and drilling muds. The name comes from the Greek word gypsos, meaning chalk. The famous Milford mastodons were discovered in a gypsum mine at Carrolls Corner.

Object type: 
Mineral
Object #: 
NSM 969GM0025.001
Collection name: 
Curator: 
Date (age/made): 
Early Carboniferous Period, approximately 350 million years ago
Origin/place: 
National Gypsum Quarry, East Milford
Materials: 
Mineral (gypsum)
Dimensions: 
18 x 15 cm