Created in 1985 by the Government of Quebec, Miguasha was designated a World Heritage Site in 1999 in recognition of its wealth of fossils, which display a crucial time during the evolution of life on Earth.

The museum's collection includes over 9,000 specimens of fossil fish and plants.

[1] The coastal cliffs are Upper Devonian strata of grey sedimentary rock belonging to the Escuminac Formation.

The area today supports mainly birch, aspen, and fir forests.

Some of the fish, fauna, and spore fossils found at Miguasha are rare and ancient species.