Waco Mammoth

https://www.nps.gov/waco/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_Mammoth_National_Monument The Waco Mammoth National Monument is a paleontological site and museum in Waco, Texas, where fossils of 24 Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) and other mammals from the Pleistocene Epoch have been uncovered. The site is the largest known concentration of mammoths dying from a (possibly) reoccurring event, which is believed to have been a flash flood. The mammoths on site did not all die at the same time but rather during three separate events in the same area. Standing as tall as 14 feet and weighing 20,000 pounds, Columbian mammoths roamed across what is present-day Texas thousands of years ago. Today, the fossil specimens represent the nation's first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of ice age Columbian mammoths. From I-35 North, take exit 339 and head west on Lake Shore Drive. Turn right on Steinbeck Bend Drive and travel 1.5 miles to the Monument. From I-35 South, take exit 335C and head northwest on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Continue straight onto Steinbeck Bend Drive and travel 1.5 miles to the Monument. The Monument is easily accessible via personal vehicle, bus, or motor home. Welcome Center Guided tours of the Dig Shelter begin here. Tours are conducted every 30 minutes, no reservation needed. Tours last from 45 minutes to one hour. Tour guides will lead you from the Welcome Center, down a 300 yard paved path to the Dig Shelter where mammoth fossils are in situ (still in their original position within the bone bed). From I-35 North, take exit 339 and head west on Lake Shore Drive. Turn right on Steinbeck Bend Drive and travel 1.5 miles to the Monument. From I-35 South, take exit 335C and head northwest on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Continue straight onto Steinbeck Bend Drive and travel 1.5 miles to the Monument. The Monument is easily accessible via personal vehicle, bus, or motor home. Interior of Dig Shelter Visitors view fossils from walkway Visitors view fossils from above using the elevated walkway. Waco Mammoth Executive Order President Obama signs order viewed by members of National Park Service On July 10, 2015, President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation making the Waco Mammoth Site a new unit of the National Park System. Mammoth Herd Mural Painting of Mammoth nursery herd This paleontological site represents the nation’s only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Columbian mammoths. Entrance Sign to Waco Mammoth Entrance sign to Waco Mammoth with bluebonnets in foreground. Waco Mammoth National Monument became part of the national Park Service on July 10, 2015. Mammoth Tusks Mammoth Tusks in situ Mammoth fossils are in situ (still in their original position within the bone bed). National Park Getaway: Waco Mammoth National Monument The year was 1978. Two teenage boys were hunting for arrowheads in a creek bed on the outskirts of Waco, Texas. While they were unsuccessful with their pursuit for Native American artifacts that day, their quest would not go unrewarded. They would uncover a mystery so huge, you might even refer to it as a “mammoth-sized” find that was the only one of its kind! Two visitors standing on a platform overlooking a fossil site Bringing The Past Alive: Mammoth Behavior Seen Through Waco Mammoth National Monument and its Impact on Interpretation The mammoths of Waco Mammoth National Monument have undoubtedly changed the way people view these Ice Age creatures. Through the discovery of the first and only Columbian mammoth nursery herd, the public is provided a glimpse of what life was like for these animals through their habits and social structure. a life size Colombian mammoth painting First Paleontologist Hired at Waco Mammoth National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument was proclaimed a unit of the National Park Service in July 2015 to protect and interpret an assemblage of mammoths believed to represent a nursery herd. The first paleontologist for the monument, Lindsey Yann, was hired in January 2020 to help promote scientific research, resource management and public education. park ranger in uniform Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths. fossils on display at a visitor center Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 2020 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> two people standing outdoors near a fossil tree base Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 11, No. 1, Spring 2019 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> Tule Springs Fossil Beds Quaternary Period—2.58 MYA to Today Massive ice sheets advanced and retreated across North America during much of the Quaternary, carving landscapes in many parks. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve contains geologic evidence of lower sea level during glacial periods, facilitating the prehistoric peopling of the Americas. The youngest rocks in the NPS include the lava of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the travertine at Yellowstone National Park, which can be just a few hours old. fossil bone bed and murals of mammoths Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths. fossils on display in a visitor center Staff Spotlight: Vanessa Torres Meet Vanessa Torres, Program Manager of Interpretation, Education, and Community Engagement for Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park and Waco Mammoth National Monument. Hear her story and advice she has for youth and young adults. Vanessa Torres enjoying a break in the Texas Bluebonnets Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian. photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 2023 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> three people working in a fossil quarry Expanding Access to Learning about Paleontology through Interpretive Programming in Spanish at Waco Mammoth National Monument Leonardo Maduro-Salvarrey was recruited as an interpretation and education intern at Waco Mammoth National Monument during 2022. Leo helped to coordinate educational outreach to Spanish speaking visitors to the monument interested in learning about the fossils. two people talking over an interpretive display NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Waco Mammoth National Monument, Texas Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. Photo of mammoth fossils in situ including tusks, teeth, and bones

Waco Mammoth Waco Mammoth National Monument Texas National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior You can almost hear them, and sense the rain coming, says Ellie Caston, who helped preserve this mammoth site in Waco, Texas. She is imagining the first group of Columbian mammoths found here as they were 65,000 years ago, as adult females surrounding their young. Like today’s elephants, the adults encircled the young to protect them. But on that long-ago day, they all died. Since the bones were discovered, scientists have been studying them and the surrounding area to find out what killed the animals. Maybe it was a flash flood from a storm, as Caston was thinking. Or perhaps it was a drought. These bones and their hidden stories led to establishing Waco Mammoth National Monument in 2015—a place where science and wonder come alive. Timeline TOP AND LEFT—© KAREN CARR About 1.7 million years ago, mammoths cross an ice bridge from Asia to North America. Two species develop in North America—the woolly mammoth and the Columbian mammoth. 65,000 years ago Exact time unknown 51,000 years ago A nursery herd of Columbian mammoths dies in a ravine here. Layers of mud quickly cover their bones. Their fossils are discovered in 1978—the first mammoth nursery herd found in North America. Other animals die in the same area as the nursery herd. A saber-toothed cub is known only by its tooth. The others are unidentified, known only by a few bones. At least three mammoths die in the same area as the nursery herd. One is the only adult male Columbian mammoth that has been found as of 2018. Columbian mammoths were still roaming this area when humans arrived around 11,000 years ago. Mammoths died out around 10,000 years ago. We were on to a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. Paul Barron Paul Barron recalls how he and Eddie Bufkin felt in 1978 when they found a big fossil while exploring this area. They took it to Baylor University, where scientists recognized it as a leg bone of a Columbian mammoth. The scientists organized an excavation, but kept the details secret to protect the site from poachers. They also protected the fossils by encasing them in plaster jackets (left). They lifted the jackets out of the pit and trucked them to BONES LEFT IN PLACE At Waco, many mammoth bones remain in situ—in their original positions (background image, left). Some, like skulls and tusks, are easy to identify. All of them hold clues to life and death in the past. ABOVE—© DOMINICK CIRINCIONE; BACKGROUND—CITY OF WACO • WHERE THEY LIVED Mammoths lived when a continental ice sheet covered much of North America, 95,000 to 10,000 years ago. (The greatest extent is shown below.) The Waco area climate, though, was warm all year. Columbian mammoths ranged south through Central America and north into colder areas—but not as far north as the smaller and hairier woolly mammoths. Male Tusks 10–16 feet long up to 200 pounds each Columbian Mammoth Mammuthus columbi A Columbian mammoth was born with tusks and a trunk, just like a modern elephant. It used these tools to gather food, dig for water, and defend itself and others in the herd. Its teeth (below) were wide and flat, about the size of a Columbian mammoth shoebox. They could grind tough plants into digestible wads. Its wide, flat feet were cushioned by internal sponge-like pads. Such feet enabled an adult mammoth to walk for miles and miles like today’s elephants. 14 feet Foot 10 feet Z Weight ©B 20,000 pounds (10 tons) • MAMMOTHS—NPS PEOPLE—FREEPIK L AY Tooth ©A • DA M R Food 300–700 pounds per day SO N ER EV AN M R A OR 4 in a set 6 sets in a lifetime S AN OW IC Y IVE RSI T UN • O • Woolly mammoth Internal sponge-like pads cushion the foot safekeeping in Baylor’s museum storage. Those bones are still there in their plaster jackets. One day, scientists will have the time to study them and see what other stories they might tell. ©B • BA AR Water 50 gallons per day IDI © HE • D AN Dung 400 pounds per day Texas During the Ice Ages Columbian mammoths lived during the Pleistocene Epoch, a time also called the ice ages. The climate here was warm 65,000 years ago, not cold and icy. Mammoths roamed a vast area of grasslands and woodlands, along with other mammals like the camels, dire wolves, and saber-toothed cats shown above. ILLUSTRATION ABOVE—© KAREN CARR Fossils and other evidence at Waco show that a new glacial period was beginning around 50,000 years ago— the last great icy time before modern times. Grasses were still abundant, but cooler-weather plants became part of the mammoths’ diet too. It is rare to have so much evidence of a changing climate in one place. This is another reason why Waco Mammoth National Monument was established. Fossils of Waco • Mammoth, possibly a rib broken and healing • • Mammoth rib 34 inches long Mammoth skull and tusk Mammoth upper foreleg bone 25 inches long • • • Mammoth neck bone 16 inche