Burgess Shale

proper noun

A rock formation in the Canadian Rockies that contains very many fossils from the Cambrian period.

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Meanings

proper nounBurgess shale
  1. A rock formation in the Canadian Rockies that contains very many fossils from the Cambrian period.

Origin

Named by its discoverer in 1909, after the place where it was found. It was found in or near the Burgess Pass, next to or on Mount Burgess, Yoho National Park, in the Canadian Rockies, by Charles Doolittle Walcott. As for which person with surname Burgess the pass and the mountain were named for, and the etymology of the surname Burgess itself, see Mount Burgess § History and see Burgess.

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Burgess Shale

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Cite this entry
APA

Burgess Shale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burgess%20Shale

MLA

“Burgess Shale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burgess%20Shale. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Burgess Shale,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Burgess%20Shale.

Source: Burgess Shale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.