Fodor's Expert Review Burgess Shale Fossils

A layer of rock deposits containing amazingly well-preserved fossil specimens, Burgess shale formations were first discovered in 1886 by a railway worker in nearby Yoho National Park. Subsequently in 1909, Smithsonian Institute paleontologist Charles Walcott started collecting and analyzing specimens. The current site at the base of the Stanley Glacier in Kootenay was not discovered until 2012 and contains fossils with clearly visible details of the bones and insides of creatures from the underwater ecosystem that existed for a short time after the first explosion of multicellular life on earth over 505 million years ago. The Burgess shale fossils are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the larger Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.