Page:Walcott A Geologists Paradise.djvu/6

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 * Waiting on the Burgess trail under Mount Wapta.jpg
 * align="right" | Photo by Charles D. Walcott
 * align="center" | WAITING ON THE BURGESS TRAIL UNDER MOUNT WAPTA
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 * align="center" | WAITING ON THE BURGESS TRAIL UNDER MOUNT WAPTA
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Beneath the old Cambrian sea-beach now forming the base of the Fairview formation there is a great series of sandstones and sandy shales of quite a different character. These rocks formed the land area which was submerged by the Cambrian sea that wore them away more or less in its advance over the continent.

These older rocks are supposed, owing to their character and the absence of marine fossils, to have been deposited in fresh water. They are referred to a series called Algonkian, and are divided into two formations:

The breaking down of the mountain summits by the action of rain, frost, and ice, so as to form strong pyramids and ridges, is constantly going on. This is