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Burgess Shale
Fossil-bearing rock formation in the Canadian Rockies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Further information: Burgess Shale type fauna, Fossils of the Burgess Shale, and Paleobiota of the Burgess Shale
The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada.[2][3] It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At 508 million years old (middle Cambrian),[4] it is one of the earliest fossil beds containing soft-part imprints.
Quick Facts Type, Unit of ...
Burgess Shale | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Miaolingian ~508 Ma | |
![]() Ottoia, a soft-bodied worm, abundant in the Burgess Shale. (From Smith et al. 2015) | |
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Stephen Formation |
Thickness | 161 meters (528 ft)[1] |
Lithology | |
Primary | Shale |
Location | |
Coordinates | 51°26′N 116°28′W |
Region | Yoho National Park and Kootenay National Park |
Country | Canada |
Type section | |
Named for | Burgess Pass |
Named by | Charles Doolittle Walcott, 1911 |
![]() Map highlighting Yoho National Park in red |
Close
The rock unit is a black shale and crops out at a number of localities near the town of Field in Yoho National Park and the Kicking Horse Pass. Another outcrop is in Kootenay National Park 42 km to the south.