It was named for Cathedral Mountain in Yoho National Park by Charles Doolittle Walcott, the discoverer of the Burgess shale fossils.

[1] The Cathedral escarpment on its westernmost edge is thought to have played a major role in the deposition and preservation of the Burgess shale fossils.

[4] Deposition took place in shallow water on an extensive algal reef or carbonate platform that had developed along the western margin of the North American Craton.

It is approximately 100 to 300 metres (330 to 1000 feet) high and extends for about 100 kilometres (62 miles) running through and around Yoho National Park, although only small portions of it are exposed.

[9] During the deposition of the Stephen Formation, mudflows ran down and along the escarpment, trapping the Burgess shale organisms and burying them quickly at the base of the cliff.

[12] The formation also hosts deposits of lead, zinc, and silver in the Kicking Horse Pass east of Field, British Columbia.