The Devil’s Footprints at Keels, Newfoundland

Photographer: Rick StankiewiczSummary Author: Rick Stankiewicz

Featured here is The Devil’s Footprints in the little village of Keels, Newfoundland, Canada. While touring the Canadian province of Newfoundland last summer I took the opportunity to “track” down an intriguing site referred to as The Devil’s Footprints. This site was definitely off the beaten path, but it was still accessible by vehicle on mostly paved road. It's located in the Bonavista Peninsula, south of the town of Bonavista.

Follow the rustic signage to the south edge of the community and you can park next to this unique site and investigate the geological evidence of where the Devil himself may have once trod…or so it's said. On a rocky outcrop that overlooks the ocean you'll notice curious looking deep circular impressions in the rock surface. Some folks say they look more like the impression of cloven hooves. Regardless, most of these impressions are arranged in a linear pattern across the rock face in what appears to be a track or pathway.

Although local legend would explain these pockmarks as having been left by the Devil when he danced through Keels years ago, I think the likely explanation is that sediments built up concentric layers around the remains of possibly ancient organisms, forming concretions in a substrate that turned to rock. Eventually the softer concretions eroded away leaving the nodular depressions that remain today. Strange indeed, but whether these markings are left by the Devil or result from concretion formation, it makes for an interesting story and a site worth investigating yourself, if you’re ever in this neck of the woods. As they say, “The Devil is in the details.” Photo taken on July 14, 2023.Photo Details: Nikon P900 camera; ISO 100; f/3.5; 1/400 second exposure.

Keels, Newfoundland, Canada Coordinates: 48.6039, -53.4073Related Links:Concretions Decorate the Grounds of the MetraParkGeology and the Dark Side