Coal Creek Heritage Trail June 2026 | Page 15

Preserving the Ammonite Fossil Together

LEAVE an Imprint of Care

This ammonite, a relic of ancient life, invites you to share in its story. Your care and awareness are part of its continued stewardship, ensuring that the next explorers can experience the same awe you feel today. Let this fossil be a shared treasure, preserved not just for us, but for the future.

Help protect the ammonite for future generations:

as WE STEWARD				View the ammonite with reverence, observing it from a respectful distance.	Capture its beauty in photos, reflecting on the wonder of holding a piece of prehistory in your gaze.		Remember, this fossil is fragile. By staying off and away from it, you protect its future for generations to come.
TOGETHER
			Photo by allou / iStock Photo

Step into this creek where, in 1947, geologists made a remarkable discovery- a fossil that had been hidden for

Ammonite Discovery

Tourism Fernie photo

For more information about prehistoric life visit interpretive displays, under the Paleo Trail BC initiative, in Sparwood at the Visitor Centre and Museum, in Fernie at the Visitor Centre and in Cranbrook at the Cranbrook History Centre and Visitor Centre. Millions of years of history are brought to life in displays and videos.

This fossil was preserved in a beach along the shore of a shallow sea during the late Jurassic, 150 million years ago.

Mountain building thrust rock skyward 120-60 Million Years Ago. Over millions of years gravity, water, and the elements have eroded the rock to reveal this fossil. Today its biggest threat is us! Like fragile sand on a beach that can be washed away, people standing or sitting in the fossil can wear away its ancient imprint.

millions of years. As you walk the same
path they once did, take a moment to imagine their astonishment, and feel a connection to this distant past.	AQUATIC CENTRE Coal Creek Heritage Trail FERNIE MONTANE TRAILHEAD Coal Creek Heritage Trail- Phase 2 Other Trail Road Sign Locations Road- Closed Points of Interest	COAL CREEK RD RIVER RD- Closed to motorized vehicles P approx. 1 km	RIFLE RANGE AMMONITE TRAIL	YOU ARE HERE 17.8 km	MATHESON FALLS TRAIL