Princeton Chert

The Princeton Chert is a fossil locality in British Columbia, Canada, that represents one of the best preserved collections of Eocene Epoch floras in the world, with rich species abundance and diversity. It is located on the east bank of the Similkameen River, 8.5 km (5.3 mi) south of the town of Princeton in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

The site of the Princeton Chert (Ashnola in older sources) and its fossils have been known since the 1950s, but have recently attracted increased attention. This may be due to the rare type of silica permineralized fossil Lagerstätten found, which has preserved plants and animals in minute 3D detail, with exceptional internal cellular detail. This has meant anatomical descriptions and reconstruction of whole plants from isolated parts has been possible in many species. Few plant fossils elsewhere in the world exhibit such excellence in both preservation and diversity. Similar aged fossil beds in Eocene lake sediments are found elsewhere in British Columbia, including in Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park near Smithers in northern British Columbia, and the McAbee Fossil Beds west of Kamloops, about 160 km (160,000 m) NNW of the Princeton Chert beds.

The Princeton Chert is an interbedded sequence consisting of coal, shale, volcanic ash, and chert in the Allenby Formation. 49 chert layers, ranging in thickness from 1 to 55 cm (0.39 to 21.65 in) have been recognized and described, though each is not unique in organisms preserved. Despite this, trends are evident throughout the outcrop, with certain taxa appearing and disappearing with time.

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