Shark Bay, Australia
Some of the more distinctive ancient fossils are stromatolites, which are cone shaped rock-structures that pile up as the byproduct of cyanobacteria metabolism. In modern day, some of the most striking examples are found in the most westerly tip of Australia, called Shark Bay. Here, huge fields of stromatolites are lapped by the salty ocean waters and fed by bright sunlight.
Pilbara region
Scientists have found 3.43-billion-year-old fossil stromatlites in the Pilbara region of Australia. Here, a landsat image of the region.
Stromatolite layers
Here, layers from one of the Pilbara stromatolites.