A world beneath the surface.

Enter
the
Ice
Age!

Mastodon

On October 14, 2010, a contractor felt a ka-chunk beneath his bulldozer. He stopped the engine. Climbed down from his high seat. And, what he saw changed the course of science and a whole community.

The Discovery

The deeper they dug, the more surprises they discovered.

A prehistoric bison skull is discovered- the horns measure 6'4" across!
It became a tradition to drink the water that dripped out of the bone that you found. Mastodon juice anyone?
The “Clay Mammoth” specimen was found, the largest and most complete mammoth of the dig.
67 staff and volunteers. 3,634 hours of work- 454 person days. Over 600 bones found in just 19 days.
The Dig

They had 10 weeks to unearth 85,000 years of history.

1958
1958
2008
October 14, 2010
November 3, 2010
November 6, 2010
November 14, 2010
May 15, 2011
May 24, 2011
June 13, 2011
June 27, 2011
July 2, 2011
July 2, 2011
The Fossils

The animals have changed, but the trees remain the same.

When you visit Snowmass, you’ll no longer hear the clopping of camel hooves or the bellows of Columbian mammoths. But you will see the same aspen, fir and oak species they saw. Because while most large prehistoric animals are extinct, 89% of the plant species still call these mountains home.

Snomass Flora:
Status: Active
Quaking Aspen

This Colorado icon cloaks the Rocky Mountains in greens and yellows every spring. And bur ... sts into oranges and reds every fall. One reason this species has lasted so many millenia? Its extensive root system helps it regrow quickly after fires.

This Colorado icon cloaks the Rocky Mountains in greens and yellows every spring. And bursts into oranges and reds every fall. One reason this species has lasted so many millenia? Its extensive root system helps it regrow quickly after fires.

Learn More
More About The Fossils
The Valley

A land carved by time

80 million years ago
80 million years ago
2.6 million years ago
140,000 years ago
120,000 years ago
80,000 years ago
21,000 years ago
Present Day
Present Day

Why were there so many fossils in Ziegler Reservoir?

It didn’t take a major event to preserve more than 5,000 fossils in this one location. Instead, they accumulated slowly over time. Some were deposited by glaciers. Some were brought by mudslides. Others belonged to animals who got stuck in the marsh. These fossils waited underground for thousands of years, perfectly preserved, ready for scientists to uncover.

Crust Upper red sand White clay Upper debris flow Upper silt Primary debris flow Main silt Main pebble floor Basement silt Till