Panorama of the Canadian Rockies

Summary

Landscape view of the Canadian Rockies. Over the tops of mountain ridges and peaks, there are clouds in the sky despite sunny conditions. Patches of snow are left in shady areas and trees are visible in a valley beyond the ridge in the foreground of the image.

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927), fourth Secretary of the Smithsonian (1907-1927), was a paleontologist whose research focused on North American Cambrian fossils. He conducted field work in the United States and Canada, and, in 1909, while in the Canadian Rockies near Field, British Columbia, discovered what has come to be known as the Burgess Shale. The shale contained fossils that provided the foundation for study of the Cambrian Period in Western North America. Neither Walcott nor the scientific community realized the importance of this discovery, but the Burgess Shale came to be recognized as one of the most important geologic findings of the 20th century. Walcott is equally well-known for his method of photographing topographies for scientific documentary purposes, producing stunning images of these majestic landscapes.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7004, Box 44, Folder: 17

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

c. 1910s

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Archaeology
• Scientific expeditions
• Landscapes
• Photography, Panoramic
• National parks and reserves
• Paleontology
• Fieldwork

Place

• Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)
• Canada
• Alberta

Form/Genre

• Photographic print
• Landscape
• Panoramic photographs

ID Number

SIA2009-3551 or Walcott 724

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and White; Size: 8w x 5.9h; Type of Image: Exterior; Landscape Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

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