Centennial anniversary...

of the discovery of the strange faunas in the Burgess Shale occurs this year which many paleontologists describe as “the most important fossil discovery in history.” More:

"Serendipity played a further role in the discovery of the Burgess Shale: During the final days of the 1909 summer field season, Charles Doolittle Walcott, former head of the Smithsonian Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey, was navigating Burgess Pass on horseback when he discovered these 505-million-year-old fossils, famous for their amazing diversity, bizarre life forms and out-of-this-world appendages and proboscises. Walcott had come to Yoho National Park, in search of “stone bugs” excavated during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway."

Guided hiking tours (for a fee) to several research quarries are available during the summer season, departing from Field, British Columbia. Information available at this web site.