This is probably the only place we visited on vacation that my wife and her family hadn't visited before on any of their previous trips to the Black Hills.
My wife found out about this place when she was doing to vacation planning. They have a Jr. Paleontologist diggin program where they teach you how to dig and then you dig for mammoth bones. We though it would be a good idea since Karsten loves to dig. (as the holes in our yard, flower beds, and perimeter of the sandbox attest.)
The dig went well (Karsten found a mammoth Rib, and Kiera found a 4ft. mammoth femur bone.)
This site is pretty impressive. So far they have found remains of at least 55 mammoths (110 tusks have already been discovered.) They expect to find at least that many more as they continue to go further down into the ground.
How did so many mammoths get here? Well, the site was originally a huge grassy plain. Some underground cave collapses caused a giant sinkhole about 60' by 120'. Over time, the hole was filled by a natural hot spring. This was significant since the hot water never froze during winter and also kept surrounding grasses growing year around. Thus the site became an oasis for the mammoths. The problem was getting to the water: Since mammoths are big, the would cause the ground to collapse and/or just fall in trying to hydrate and eat. Despite being strong swimmers, the mammoths would drown due to either starvation or exhaustion, then drown.
The site was discovered in 1974 after the sinkhole became a mound due the hardening to the remains and erosion of the surrounding area. A bulldozer attempting to level the site scraped a tusk, they called out a paelontologitst, and the rest-as they say- is history.
Hopefully these pictures give you a good idea of what's there. Admittedly, it's hard to tell the bones from the dirt in most of them. If you'd like more pictures and info, you can check out the Mammoth Site's web site.
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