Inverness County rocks – and shakes

Dr. Ted Matheson and one of his students, Jessica MacIsaac, looking at the evidence of an earthquake 325 million years ago. (Photo credit: Dr. Jason Loxton)
July 16, 2025
-by Beverley Phillips
Picture this.
It’s 325 million years ago.
Creignish.
It’s a warm day. Not a breath of wind.
You’re standing in a broad valley, on the edge of a shallow lake.
A lake so big, you can’t see the other side.
There’s scrubland behind you.
A large crocodile-like creature swims lazily by.
This is what you might see if a time machine transported you back to Creignish, 325 million years ago, when we were about 10 to 15 degrees south of the equator, and slowly moving northward.