Gunflint Chert Specimen

Description: This specimen is from the Gunflint Formation, a Paleoproterozoic chemical-clastic sedimentary assemblage outcropping to the immediate northwest of Lake Superior that became famous in 1954 for containing the oldest fossil assemblage known at that time. Older microfossils have since been discovered, but the Gunflint prokaryotes remain one of the most diverse Precambrian fossil communities.

The wavy laminae seen here of the chertized stromatolites (chert is cryptocrystallized quartz) represents a facet of the early history of life on Earth.

Age: Paleoproterozoic (1.9 Billion Years Old)

Size 1.5"W X 2 1/2"H X 1/4"D

Location: Gunflint Formation, Ontario, Canada (outside of the nature preserve), circa 1963

Comes with information and authenticity