Petrified Sea Gardens in western Saratoga Springs, New York, preserves a rare exposed Cambrian sea bed within the Hoyt Limestone, including notable stromatolites formed by marine algae. Because glacial action elsewhere often buried or altered such surfaces, these outcrops became especially important to science after their identification in 1825. James Hall recognized their organic origin and created a new genus for stromatolites, while Winifred Goldring later identified the organisms that formed them and praised these examples as among the finest surviving specimens. Opened to the public in 1924, the site later earned national landmark status and remains important to geology and paleontology.