The Mammoth Site was discovered in 1974 when a bulldozer was excavating the land for a housing development and unearthed gigantic bones and ivory. The son of the bulldozer operator had taken a geology class with Dr. Larry Agenbroad (then at Chadron State College) who detoured part of his dig site crew and crew chief, Dr. Jim Mead, to investigate the claim. Excitement ensued as the bones were verified as MAMMOTH! That summer, the crew spent an additional 10 days reviewing the site before dragging themselves away to their ultimate summer destination at the Hudson-Meng Bison Kill Site near Crawford. The following year, Dr. Agenbroad, Dr. Mead, and crew returned to prospect more of the site. And then discovery! In the fall of 1975 a critical fossil skull was unearthed and the site was determined to be a significant find. In 1976, Dr. Agenbroad made the decision to leave the majority of bones in-situ (in the original position of discovery) creating The Mammoth Site which remains today as the site with the largest insitu mammoth remains anywhere in the world. And you are here to explore it with us. Just as you go through the doorway, notice the bronze plaque to your left that indicates that the US National Park Service designated The Mammoth Site a National Natural Landmark in 1980.”

The Mural

As you enter the brown double doors, the mural you are seeing in front of you depicts an artist interpretation of the sinkhole as it likely appeared 140,000 years ago. Mammoths are toddling along the border of the forest and browsing on a grassy plain that flanks a nearby dangerous pond – note that one unlucky mammoth has managed to become entrapped. Close your eyes and envision the humid springs, the smells, and the sounds. Take yourself back to the Ice Age. As you tour the sinkhole (what we call the Bonebed) look for numbered and colored flags positioned inside the fence. Standing adjacent to those flags will give you the best vantage point for the discussion about interesting facts at each stop. Use the map provided on the app to help you locate the flagged-stops. The map can be found by clicking on the menu in the upper left of the screen. Ready to move on? Proceed to the right and look inside the Bonebed for Flag 1.