Burgess Shale

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/burgess-shale

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the geological context?Middle Cambrian black shale deposit, approximately 508 million years old
2. What is the location?Canadian Rockies, British Columbia, Canada (Yoho and Kootenay National Parks)
3. Why are the fossils in the Burgess Shale so special?They were buried quickly in fine mud that had no oxygen, so even soft parts stayed intact, letting scientists see details that usually disappear.
4. Where can we find the Burgess Shale?In the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, especially at places like Walcott Quarry.

Lagerstätte: A sedimentary deposit containing exceptional fossil preservation, often including soft tissues.
Metazoan: Multicellular animal organisms, encompassing all animal life forms.
Phylum: A major taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class, representing a fundamental body plan.