“The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD”

Gigantic mammoths, ancestors of the majestic elephants of today, once roamed freely on the High Plains of North America. A repository of their remains, along with other kinds of animals, lay undisturbed until their discovery over 26,000 years later, in June 1974.

Limestone deposits beneath the earth’s surface dissolved in water from underground springs. The land then collapsed and the resulting sinkhole filled with 95 degree water that lured mammoths to drink or feed on vegetation. Once in the water, they could not get up the slippery,

steep incline. Death by starvation or drowning was the fate of most animals that came to the sinkhole. Along with the mammoth, remains of the giant short-faced bear, extinct camel, gray wolf, raptor, cottontail rabbit, white-tailed jackrabbit, white-tailed prairie dog, fish and other associated fauna have also been found at the Site.

As centuries passed, the sinkhole gradually filled. Rain, snow and wind wore away the soil leaving a hill of buried skeletons.

This hill remained undisturbed until 1974 when excavation for a housing project by Phil and Elenora Anderson revealed bones and tusks of these huge animals.

In 1975, the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, Inc., was formed as a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of the fossils, protecting and developing the site as an in-situ (bones left as found) exhibit.

The Mammoth Site is quite different from most museums. It is not merely a display of collected items; most of the excavated bones remain exactly where they were found (in-situ). Visitors also witness the complete process of paleontology from start to finish. Along with the scientists, they will see for the first time bones of animals that lived before any person walked this land.

In 1980 the Mammoth Site was designated as a Registered National Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior.

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs is truly a gift from nature - - our inheritance held in trust for over 26,000 years. We would diminish ourselves if we failed to perceive the historical and scientific value of this discovery.

Fall River County