Walcott, Charles D (Charles Doolittle) 1850-1927 Search this
Physical description:
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: Neg. 5" film; Type of Image: Landscape; Panaromic photographs Medium: Photographic print
Type:
Photographic print
Landscape
Panoramic photographs
Place:
Alberta
British Columbia
Canada
Banff National Park (Alta.)
Rocky Mountains
Yoho Valley (Alta.)
Mount Balfour (Alta.)
Mount Daly (Alta.)
Whaleback Mountain (Alta.)
Mount Niles (Alta.)
Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)
Date:
1909
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.
Summary:
Charles Doolittle Walcott's panoramic image is from the north base of Vice-President's Peak looking across the upper end of the Yoho Valley toward Whaleback Mountain and thence to the eastward past mounts Balfour, Daly, and Niles, British Columbia (now Alberta), Canada. Walcott used a Cirkut Outfit Camera to capture the image.
Contained within:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7004, Charles D. Walcott Papers