The Big Hill formation likely represents a shallow, sheltered basin within the photic zone, suggested by the completeness and lack of transport of the algal specimens. However, the lack of desiccation cracks and adhesion structures suggests that there was no subaerial exposure and the absence of ripple marks suggests that the basin was at least several meters deep.
While the basin was largely sheltered, it was likely connected by an extent to open marine ecosystems, as shown by the presence of chasmataspidids, eurypterids, and scyphozoanmedusae. The medusae represent different stages of decomposition, suggesting that they were not all deposited in a single event but rather accumulated over time on the seabed via waves or currents. In addition, the orthocones may have been empty shells that drifted into the basin.