The Mammoth Site

Description

This museum straddles an enormous dry sinkhole where Ice Age mammoths and other creatures, in search of water fed by ancient hot springs, fell to their deaths. The sediment that later filled the sinkhole preserved their remains, which were first discovered in the 1970s. In addition to Columbian and woolly mammoths (ancestors of the modern elephant), the site contains precursors of the bear, camel, llama, coyote, and many other species. The museum offers exhibits, a ten-minute video presentation, and a 30-minute guided tour of the sinkhole, where visitors can see the fossilized skeletons as they were found embedded in the ground. Visitors during the month of July may see actual excavations of newly discovered remains. Open daily; hours vary by season. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and Easter Sunday.