Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Author:
Walcott, Charles D (Charles Doolittle) 1850-1927  Search this
Subject:
Mount Robson Park (B.C.)  Search this
Physical description:
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: Neg. 10" film; Type of Image: Landscape; Panoramic photographs; Medium: Photographic print
Type:
Photographic print
Landscape
Panoramic photographs
Place:
Alberta
British Columbia
Canada
Phillips Mountain (Alta.)
Lynx Mountain (Alta.)
Mount Resplendent (Alta.)
Hunga Glacier (Alta.)
McLaurin Mountain (Alta.)
Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)
Rocky Mountains
Date:
1913
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 southwest slope of Titkana Peak, overlooking Hunga Glacier, Mount Robson Park, British Columbia (now Alberta), Canada. This view begins on the left at Snowbird Pass, and passes to the right by Phillips Mountain and Chushina Glacier below, next Lynx Mountain in the distance and in the center the snow-capped Mount Resplendent (11,173 ft.). Robson Peak (13,068 ft.) is partially shrounded in mist. Iyatunga (9,000 ft.) rises as a black mass above Hunga Glacier, and to the right across Robson PassMcLaurin Mountain with Mumm Peak (9,740 ft.) at the extreme right. Walcott used a Cirkut Outfit Camera to capture the image.
Contained within:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7004, Charles D. Walcott Papers
Contact information:
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Topic:
Burgess Shale (B.C.)  Search this
Paleontology  Search this
Canada  Search this
Photography, Panoramic  Search this
National parks and reserves  Search this
Provincial parks and reserves  Search this
Mountains  Search this
Scientific expeditions  Search this
Standard number:
Walcott 985
Restrictions & Rights:
No restrictions
Data Source:
Smithsonian Archives - History Div
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sic_11330