grass, a plant well adapted to the area’s light rainfall, periodic
droughts, low humidity, rapid evaporation, and high winds. The dominant
vertebrate animals are burrowers and grazers, and dogs are the primary
carnivores. Hoofed animals such as the pronghorn, the ultimate in the
running and bounding adaptation; jumpers and hoppers, such as
jackrabbits and jumping mice and rats; and burrowing mound builders,
such as the prairie dog (a large ground squirrel), the pocket gopher,
and harvester ants typify the major occupations of plains animals.
The environmental type seen on the Great Plains of North America is
elsewhere best developed in the Pampas of Argentina, the Puztas of
Hungary, the Veld of Africa, and the Steppes of Russia. In the climatic
classification of the climatologist and geographer, the term _steppe
climate_ is applied to all these areas, the Great Plains included.
If the savanna is the halfway station between forests and grasslands,
then the fossil fauna of the Early Miocene at Agate was a fauna in the
beginning of a serious transition. In the vicinity of Agate, the fauna
from the Late Oligocene was dominated by mammals with low-crowned teeth.
The crown is that part of the tooth which is above the roots and exposed
beyond the gums. Among the herbivores, the browsers can live a long life
with low-crowned teeth. But when any appreciable amount of grass,
particularly the short, tough grass of the plains and the abrasive dirt
and sand that accompanies it, becomes part of an herbivore’s diet, there
is a great increase in the rate of tooth wear. Teeth which have evolved
for browsing quickly wear down to the gums and the individual dies of
starvation.
Accompanying the development of extensive grasslands came the evolution
of the high-crowned tooth. This process begins simply with the growth of
a taller crown that erupts completely from the gum right after the milk
or deciduous teeth fall out. Another step is the development of a longer
or higher crown most of which is held in the jaw and then slowly pushed
out as the chewing surface is worn down. This is the “mechanical pencil”
effect in that the “lead” may be pushed out as needed. Teeth of this
type are perhaps best seen in the later horses. From their appearance in
the Late Paleocene until the end of the Early Miocene, all horses had
low-crowned teeth. With these they could chew the soft leaves and twigs
of trees and shrubs, first in the forests and later in the groves and
clumps on the developing savanna. By Early Miocene (i.e., Harrison)
times, there was only a slight increase in crown height in _Parahippus_,
but it had evolved an increasingly complicated crown pattern which
served to lengthen the time it took for the tooth surface to wear down
flat. With the greater aridity of the changing climate, the teeth of
_Parahippus_ became higher and higher crowned, as the individuals with
the best teeth lived longest and had greater opportunity to produce
offspring than those with lower-crowned teeth. In some species, the
tooth material called cement, which ordinarily covers the roots of the
teeth, began also to cover the enamel of the crown and give additional
wearing strength to the teeth. Soon after the beginning of the Middle
Miocene, two species had developed cement-covered teeth whose crowns
were high enough to warrant placing them into two new genera of horses,
_Merychippus_ and _Protohippus_. These forms, first recognized in the
Lower Sheep Creek Beds in the Agate area, were the first horses to use
the mechanical-pencil effect, having cheek teeth that continued to rise
out of the jaw as the tooth was worn down. _Merychippus_ later gave rise
to a line of three-toed horses, which lived on into the Pliocene;
_Protohippus_ gave rise to a line which ultimately led to _Equus_, the
modern horse.
The ultimate in high-crowned teeth occurs when roots do not ever form at
the base of the tooth; additional crown material is constantly added at
the bottom of the tooth as it is pushed out of the gum. This type of
growth resembles the foundry process of extrusion, where metal or
plastic is pushed through a mold to produce a continuous strand. This
extreme development is seen in the incisors or gnawing teeth of beavers,
gophers, and other Late Oligocene rodents, and in the grinding teeth of
only a few forms. The cheek teeth (the grinders) of modern pronghorns
(artiodactyls), gophers (rodents), and rabbits (lagomorphs) are typical
of this kind of development today. During the Middle Oligocene, only the
strange little fox terrier-sized, flat-headed oreodon _Leptauchenia_,
the tiny “deer” _Hypisodus_, and the rabbit _Palaeolagus_ had mechanical
pencil-type teeth. Some of the rhinos then had fairly tall crowns, but
these don’t really qualify as high-crowned teeth. It was not until later
on, when the grasslands took over completely, that high-crowned teeth
really came into their own.
There was no dramatic change in the fauna at the beginning of the
Miocene, and many Oligocene genera carried over into the new epoch. Most
of the Eocene hold-overs, primitive animals that had survived in the
extensive forests, became extinct when the forests began to retreat; but
for the most part the record continued undisturbed. This is to be
expected where the deposition of sediments continues without
interruption. (Remember that the epochs, periods, and eras were
originally based on breaks in the European sedimentary record reflecting
local events which would not necessarily show up in North America’s
sediments.)
By the time the Harrison Formation was deposited, the development of the
halfway world of the savanna was beginning to affect the fauna. Although
the Oligocene and the very earliest Miocene mammal faunas were highly
varied and rich in types of animals, much of this was due to the
continued presence of primitive and archaic forms, and to the explosive
development of rhinos and oreodons. With the savanna becoming the
dominant landscape, the shift to grazing and away from browsing became
evident. Or, at least, the presence of animals that both browsed and
grazed was indicative of changing times. As was mentioned earlier,
grazing and burrowing are characteristics of plains herbivores. In such
a transitional period we would expect to find an increase in burrowers
and grazers as grasslands became more common.
Evolutionary Change
Animal species respond to environmental changes in a variety of ways.
Simply put, some species die off, some adapt physically, and some move
to a different habitat. On the next few pages are examples showing how
three species responded to long-term environmental changes in the area
around Agate Fossil Beds. The _Stenomylus_ line died off; _Miohippus’_
evolutionary line remained a grazing animal but changed physically
over the years, eventually becoming the modern horse; and the
_Palaeocastor_ line moved from land to water, gradually evolving into
the beaver.
Each of these three animals is portrayed here with partial skeleton,
musculature, and outer skin to help you see its general composition
and to emphasize certain physical features that developed in the
species over time. Paleontologists, of course, work this way. From
fragments and bones they reconstruct full skeletons, and from surmises
about muscular structure, often based on present-day animals, they
project the appearance of the animal. The artist, in this case Jay
Matternes, then brings together these bits of evidence to give us a
picture of life long ago.
Stenomylus
A small, gazelle-like camel similar to the present-day gerenuk of
Africa. _Stenomylus_ is the second most common animal found in the
fossil beds at Agate. _Stenomylus_ had hard hooves like modern
antelopes and deer, unlike modern camels which have flesh-padded feet
adapted to desert terrain. The three-hued coat is inferred from the
coat of the modern gazelle, a similar form in adaptation.
_Stenomylus’_ evolutionary line eventually died out in North America
at the end of the Pleistocene. No one knows why both camels and horses
died out on this continent.
The distance between grid lines represents five centimeters.
[Illustration: 1 The ears moved in a parallel fashion, not
independently; the parallel movement is inferred from modern
llamoids, to which _Stenomylus_ is related.
2 _Stenomylus’_ musculature was adapted for high-speed running,
similar to the present-day pronghorn.
3 The back structure suggests that _Stenomylus_ would have made
short, choppy leaps, not the graceful, arcing leaps of a modern
impala.
4 Limbs were long in proportion to the body, allowing the animal to
run with great speed.
5 _Stenomylus_ had a hard, chitinous hoof, an adaptation for greater
running speed, and for sure footing on rough terrain.]
Miohippus
Over the last 60 million years the horses have evolved from small,
terrier-sized animals to the diversity of size we know today, from the
huge Clydesdales to the diminutive Shetland ponies. The three-toed early
horse known as _Miohippus_ was about the size of a sheep. The
descendants of _Miohippus_ apparently went in two directions in their
evolution: One group continued to be forest-grazing, three-toed horses
that eventually reached the size of modern horses but died out later.
The other group, through such intermediate forms as _Parahippus_, became
grassland forms that led eventually to the modern one-toed horses.
Horses became extinct in North America at the end of the Pleistocene,
but no one knows why. They continued to evolve on other continents and
were re-introduced in historic times.
The distance between grid lines represents five centimeters.
[Illustration: 1 The back was straighter and stiffer than in earlier
horses, partly because of the increasing size of the animals and
partly to allow sustained open-plains running.
2 Limbs were long in proportion to the body, an evolutionary trend
in the horses for speed in open-plains running, rather than darting
about in forests.
3 Most of the weight of the animal was on the middle toe, which has
become a single toe in modern horses. This is an adaptation for
endurance and stability in open grasslands.
4 The upright mane is a primitive horse characteristic; wild horses
today have reverted to this trait.
5 The coat is shown as striped, a probable holdover from earlier
horses that dwelled in forests, where a striped coat would provide
camouflage.
6 A large, deep mandible supported teeth adapted to grazing and the
grinding of grasses and other wild plants. The teeth were
deep-rooted and continuously erupted as the surface was worn down by
the grit and dirt that came with the large quantities of plant food
consumed daily.]
Palaeocastor
_Palaeocastor_ was an ancient beaver whose mode of life was like that of
a modern prairie dog—land-oriented instead of water-oriented.
_Palaeocastor_ was small, about 12 centimeters (5 inches) high, and
about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. Its fossilized spiral burrows,
called _Daemonelix_, survive to tell us what its habitation was like, a
feature unique to _Palaeocastor_ among all the fossil beavers. The
_Daemonelix_ shown here dwarfs a member of Olaf A. Peterson’s field crew
from the Carnegie Museum. The bones of a _Palaeocastor_ and one of its
predators were found at the bottom of one such burrow, helping to prove
that _Palaeocastor_ was responsible for making these corkscrew holes in
the ground.
The distance between grid lines represents five centimeters.
[Illustration: 1 The powerful jaw and musculature allowed for
grazing on grasses and other plants, as well as masticating. The
teeth were deep-rooted and would continue to erupt as the surface
was worn down.
2 The complex musculature supported the use of the forelimbs in
burrowing. _Palaeocastor_ had a collarbone or clavicle, like us, for
greater agility in using the forelimbs.
3 The forelimbs were adapted to burrowing in the ground.
4 The tail is like that of a modern burrowing rodent, such as a
muskrat, whereas the modern beaver has a different, very specialized
tail.]
[Illustration: Daemonelix]
A grazing animal is fairly easy to recognize, but how can we recognize a
burrower? Some have radically adapted limbs and claws. Obvious cases are
the common garden mole and the armadillo. The mole has powerful
attachments for the muscles of the upper arm on the humerus, a bone so
flattened that its width has come to match its length. Moles also have
long, broad digging claws. The armadillo, which is also a digger but not
a burrower in the same way a mole or a gopher is, has large curved claws
for digging. Moles did start to become quite common in the Late
Oligocene, so we can assume that a good burrowing environment was
present.
Another group which became extraordinarily common in the Late Oligocene
of western North America was that of the ancestral pocket gopher. Direct
proof that this group actually burrowed does not exist, but the
abundance of fossil gophers suggests that they might have lived
underground in colonies.
A real surprise at Agate is the number of beaver burrows. The famous
_Daemonelix_ or “devil’s corkscrew” attests to the dense population of
_Palaeocastor_. By that relatively advanced stage of beaver evolution,
the animals might be expected to behave like the modern-day muskrat,
perhaps digging dens along stream borders and spending some of their
time in the water. The presence of skeletons in the spiral burrows,
however, indicates that _Palaeocastor_ was primarily a burrower, one
which perhaps lived very much like our present-day prairie dog. Despite
that, there is no apparent structural modification to indicate burrowing
abilities.
Changing environmental conditions were pushing _Palaeocastor_ toward
extinction in the Early Miocene. The disappearance of that ancient
beaver, while not unusual, presents a problem for the careless observer
who might assume that ancient animals behaved like their modern
counterparts. The burrowing beavers of Miocene Agate certainly have no
modern counterparts.
While we can delineate in a general way the prehistoric life of Agate,
we can’t describe the past in any detail. Plants most directly reflect
the effects of climate—and plant fossils are absent at Agate. As the
base of the food chain, plants carry the influences of climate on to the
plant-eating animals. From the numerous animal fossils found at Agate we
have learned most of what is known about the environment of that time.
Sediments tell a good part of the story, and floras from other
localities help, but much of Agate’s ancient ecology must be inferred
from the bones.
Today, standing on the porch of the visitor center or walking along the
path to University and Carnegie Hills, visitors find themselves in the
midst of the shortgrass prairie. Five distinctive plant communities
share this prairie, coexisting in a dynamic relationship which depends
upon local climate variations.
Even to the untrained eye, it is evident that the basic short-grass
pattern has been modified by the shape of the land and by the Niobrara
River. In the stream valley, along the tributaries, and on shaded
north-facing slopes, the shortgrass community is mixed with taller
grasses. If a dry cycle began, the short grasses would take over the
whole area by migrating downslope from the exposed prairies. Of interest
is the fact that over-grazing by either domesticated or wild animals
will have the same effect as a dry period in that taller grasses will be
replaced by short ones.
Let’s examine the five communities present today so we can appreciate
the complexity of relationships between living things and the earth upon
which they depend.
First, we can begin in the Niobrara River itself. The river’s
water-dwelling plant inhabitants include algae, which grow underwater.
Between the river and the dry ground is a second community—the
marsh—which is often more wet than dry. The marsh has its own
characteristic plant association. Most familiar are the cattails, mints,
and willows, but just as important ecologically are arrowleaf, rush
sedge, marshweed and blue verbena. These are moisture-loving plants that
thrive on being thoroughly soaked during the wet part of the year.
Beyond the marsh on the valley floor is a third community. Here the
water table (the top of the saturated soil and rock zone) is close
enough to land surface that the plants can easily send their roots down
into the saturated zone. Here, in what the plant ecologists call the
“sub-irrigated floor plain” we find a mid-grass community. Eighty-five
percent of the vegetation is slender wheatgrass. Its wheat-like heads
may, under favorable conditions, grow to a height of one meter (three
feet). At Agate it is seldom over knee high. Kentucky bluegrass takes
care of another 10 percent of the plant population. Imported from Europe
as a pasture grass in the 1600’s, it spread so rapidly that it often
beat the settlers onto new land as they moved westward. The remaining
five percent includes imported redtop and such native grasses as
switchgrass, foxtail barley, little bluestem, prairie cordgrass, and
inland saltgrass. Wildflowers such as Flodmon thistle, yarrow, heath
aster, salsify, and blue-eyed grass complete the community.
Moving farther away from the stream, we rise up onto terraces within the
valley. These terraces represent levels where the stream paused in its
downcutting and cut sideways for awhile. At a drier level, on deep,
well-drained sandy soils, they support the fourth or mixed-grass
community.
No exotics have yet appeared in this plant community. The grasses
include prairie sandreed, sand bluestem, blue grama, needle-and-thread
grass, and Indian ricegrass. Wildflowers include the prominent phlox,
penstemon, and lupine. Unwelcome (to man and his grazing animals) is
_Astragalus_, the selenium-concentrating plant better known as loco
weed. The brittle prickly pear and spiderwort cactus are found here too.
At higher levels in the terrace community, slightly steeper slopes and
shallower soils cause some change in this mixed-grass assemblage. Here
the dominant grasses are little bluestem, threadleaf sedge,
needle-and-thread grass, and blue grama. Lupine disappears, and common
pricklypear becomes the only cactus. In this community is found the
yucca, its flowers a beautiful soft yellow in season and its spiny
leaves painful at any time of the year. Avoid this plant; yucca spines
break off under the skin and soon cause irritating festers. The yucca
moth, often seen flying around the yucca seed pods, lays eggs in the
plant’s lemon-sized fruits. Inside the fruit are long rows of flattened,
wedge-shaped seeds. When the yucca moth eggs hatch into caterpillars,
they eat their way through the seeds, killing them. On the other hand it
is the yucca moth with its long tongue that is solely responsible for
pollinating the yucca flower! If you find a yucca fruit in early summer,
you can (elsewhere than in the park) slice through it and see the
caterpillars at work.
On the high bluffs and overgrazed terraces is the fifth community, the
short grass. This community too can be divided into two slightly
different parts. The bluffs support blue grama grass, needle-and-thread
grass, and Sandberg blue grass. Flowers and shrubs include _Eriogonum_,
brittle pricklypear cactus, pepperweed, penstemon, broom snakeweed,
fringed sagewort, and yucca. The other part of this community, the
overgrazed terraces, have threadleaf sedge, needle-and-thread grass, and
blue grama. Except for the familiar penstemon, all the flowers are
restricted to this community. Gronwell, menzania, and bee plant are
indicators of overgrazing.
Certain cyclical variations are characteristic of these plant
communities. First, the shortgrass and mixed-grass areas ebb and flow
with changing moisture conditions from year to year. Second, grass
populations change with the seasons. Cool-season grasses (foxtail
barley, Indian rice grass, Kentucky bluegrass, needle-and-thread grass,
Sandberg blue grass, and slender wheatgrass) flourish during spring and
fall. During the warm summer the blue grama, inland saltgrass, little
bluestem, prairie cordgrass, prairie sandreed, and switchgrass
predominate. This natural adaptation to seasonal conditions uses the
greatest potential of the growing season and at the same time provides
species that will flourish in both wet and dry cycles.
After reading this last section, you might look back at the section on
Early Miocene ecology. Comparison reveals that a great deal of
information can be obtained by examining living plants. In contrast, the
lack of fossil flora from the Early Miocene at Agate has resulted in a
scarcity of ecological information from that early epoch. Scientists
begin their reasoning by such comparisons; you can begin your own
exploration of the past in the same way.
3 Guide and Adviser
[Illustration: Ask a ranger for directions to the protected example
of a Devil’s Corkscrew, the fossilized burrow of a small,
beaver-like animal called _Palaeocastor_. See pages 68-69 for more
information about this interesting animal.]
Visiting the Park
Contents of This Section
Visiting the Park 77
Location
Area
Climate
When to Visit
Visitor Center
Activities
Camping
Nearby Accommodations
Transportation
Establishment Date
Address
Access
Protection 80
Park Regulations
Safety Tips
Birding Along the Niobrara 81
Taking the Annual Count
Collections of Agate Springs Fossils 86
NPS Areas With Fossil Exhibits 88
Badlands
Dinosaur
Florissant
Fossil Butte
Petrified Forest
John Day
Hagerman
Nearby National Parks 90
Badlands
Devils Tower
Fort Laramie
Jewel Cave
Mount Rushmore
Scotts Bluff
Wind Cave
Not So Nearby National Parks 92
Bighorn Canyon
Little Bighorn
Rocky Mountain
Theodore Roosevelt
Armchair Explorations 93
Location
Northwestern Nebraska 69 kilometers (43 miles) north of Scottsbluff
along the Niobrara River.
Area
1,116 hectares (2,762 acres).
Climate
Temperatures range from winter lows of -38° C (-36° F) to summer highs
of 39° C (101° F). Winter temperatures average 1° C (33° F), and winter
snow averages 60 centimeters (2 feet) for the whole winter. However,
snowdrifts can be much higher. Summer nights are cool, with temperatures
averaging 10° C (50° F). Average annual precipitation is 41 centimeters
(16 inches), with most precipitation in April and May.
When to Visit
Most people go to the park some time between June and August, but you
can avoid the high summer temperatures by visiting in the spring, fall
or—if you don’t mind the cold and snow—in the winter. Spring can be
blustery, but the fall is usually dry and the days are cool. Check ahead
on local weather conditions if you plan a winter visit. Museums and
tourist attractions in nearby Fort Robinson are open Memorial Day to
Labor Day.
Visitor Center
A ranger is on duty to help you and answer your questions. Fossil
exhibits and part of James H. Cook’s personal collection of Indian items
are on display in the visitor center, and publications about the park,
paleontology, and history are on sale.
Activities
A trail from the visitor center takes you on a tour to both University
and Carnegie Hills, with an interpretive display at each. The roundtrip
distance is three kilometers (two miles) and takes about one hour. You
may fish for German brown and rainbow trout in the Niobrara River if you
have a Nebraska fishing license. The park has several tables for
picnickers.
Camping
The park has no camping facilities, but there are state campgrounds near
Harrison and near Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and a commercial campground
on Nebr. 26 between Mitchell and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
Nearby Accommodations
Hotels, motels, food stores, outdoor supply stores, and restaurants are
available in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. A motel, restaurant, gas station,
and grocery store are in Mitchell, Nebraska, 55 kilometers (34 miles)
south of the park. There are a motel, food store, drugstore, and
restaurant in Harrison, Nebraska, 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of the
park, and there are motels and restaurants at Fort Robinson, Nebraska,
37 kilometers (23 miles) east of Harrison, or 74 kilometers (46 miles)
northeast of the park.
Transportation
Buses—The nearest bus connections are in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
Airport—Scottsbluff, Nebraska, has an airport served by a scheduled
commercial airline. Rentals—Cars may be rented at the airport or at car
rental agencies in Scottsbluff.
Establishment of the park
June 5, 1965.
Mailing Address
Agate Fossil Beds
National Monument, 301 River Road,
Harrison, NE 69346.
Access
[Illustration: To reach the park from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, take
Nebr. 26 west to Mitchell, then Nebr. 29 north to the park. From
Fort Robinson, Nebraska, take Nebr. 20 west to Harrison, then Nebr.
29 south to the park.]
[Illustration: Plains states]
Protection
[Illustration: The trail from the visitor center takes you across
the Niobrara River, up University Hill to the fossil layer, then to
the fossil exhibit on Carnegie Hill, and back to the visitor center.
The walk takes about one hour.]
[Illustration: Two fishermen try their luck in the Niobrara.]
Park Regulations
To ensure your safety and to protect the park’s natural and historical
resources, several regulations have been established by the National
Park Service. Collecting of fossils, rocks, plants, or other objects is
not permitted. Please be sure to leave everything as you find it along
the trails and throughout the park for others to enjoy. If you have any
questions about park regulations and policies, please ask the staff. The
rangers are here to help you and to enforce the regulations.
Safety Tips
Though snakes are not prevalent, be sure to watch for rattlesnakes as
you walk about through the park, along the trails, and near the exhibits
at Carnegie and University Hills. Avoid them if you see them, but do not
harm them. As a general rule it is best to keep a good distance from any
wildlife you see, not only to protect yourself and your children, but to
avoid frightening or hurting the animal. It is best to observe wildlife
at a safe distance with field glasses. While walking about the park, do
not take chances by climbing on loose rock, or going into unauthorized
areas, and do not let your children go beyond your control. Park your
vehicle in authorized places and observe the normal rules of road safety
and courtesy while you are in the park, and when entering and leaving
it.
Birding Along the Niobrara
Taking the Annual Count
One of the joys of visiting the national parks, author Freeman Tilden
once said, is having an unexpected, provocative experience. You go to a
park to see or do one thing, and you come across something else that
strikes your fancy as well. Tilden called it serendipity. At Agate
Fossil Beds National Monument, one such experience might be
birdwatching. In this piece, Doris B. Gates writes of her annual bird
surveys in this area.
In western Nebraska the northern part of the Great Plains ends at the
Pine Ridge, an escarpment circling from Wyoming across Nebraska’s north
edge and winding into South Dakota. A major grass of this mixed prairie
is little bluestem, Nebraska’s state grass, whose rusty-red hue in fall
and winter gives much of the state its characteristic color.
These plains are rarely broken by cultivation and only a few houses with
their few trees break the landscape. The land’s major change comes where
the Niobrara River, here little more than a narrow creek, cuts a valley
whose rock outcroppings provide homes for rock wrens, chipmunks, and
bushy-tailed wood rats better known as pack or trade rats.
[Illustration: Swainson’s hawk]
Here, since 1967, near Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, my partner
and I have taken part in the annual Breeding Bird Survey for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. Part of one of our survey routes, Highway 29,
crosses the monument’s west end. We know the area—in June at least—quite
intimately, when there is nothing quite so beautiful as a sunrise over
these flower-dotted, green-grassed rolling hills along the Niobrara.
We go many kilometers and make many bird counting stops, then we drop
into the little valley where the Niobrara flows and suddenly we hear and
see birds in such rapid succession that we have difficulty getting them
all named in the three minutes allowed us under the survey rules.
Actually, three stops are influenced by the river: on the south edge we
have found a common nighthawk, a lark sparrow, and a Say’s phoebe; on
the north end the rock wren sings its un-wrenlike song. Near the bridge,
where a narrow belt of shrubs and trees—mostly willows—hugs the river,
we have logged the following: common flicker, a red-headed woodpecker,
eastern and western kingbirds, western wood peewees, a blue jay,
black-capped chickadees, house wrens, a brown thrasher, robins, yellow
warblers, black-billed magpies, common grackles, black-headed grosbeaks,
American goldfinches, and the non-native house sparrow and starling.
Only once did we see or hear a black-billed cuckoo.
_continues on page 85_
[Illustration: Red-winged blackbird chick]
[Illustration: Long-billed curlew chick]
[Illustration: Long-billed marsh wren]
[Illustration: Canada geese]
[Illustration: Long-billed curlew male]
[Illustration: House wren]
[Illustration: Nighthawk]
[Illustration: Marsh hawk chicks]
[Illustration: Killdeer]
[Illustration: Great horned owl]
[Illustration: Western meadowlark]
[Illustration: American bittern]
[Illustration: Pocket gopher]
[Illustration: Jackrabbit]
[Illustration: Hognose snake]
[Illustration: Fence lizard]
[Illustration: Coyote]
[Illustration: Pronghorn]
If we stop and peer into a large culvert under the highway we may scare
out a cloud of cliff swallows whose mud nests are stuck on culvert
walls. Barn and rough-winged swallows are more rarely seen—usually near
the Agate buildings.
Near scattered farmhouses we may see logger-head shrikes; by one water
tank we usually find a few killdeer. These and such birds as the
long-billed curlew, upland sandpipers, and sharp-tailed grouse break the
near monotony of such prairie birds as western meadowlarks (Nebraska’s
state bird), lark buntings, horned larks, and chestnut-collared
longspurs. Lark buntings line the utility wires, taking off to sing
their territorial songs, and descending with butterfly-like motions.
Hawks are here—red-tails, Swainson’s, ferruginous, marsh, and the little
American kestrel—but in small numbers. We search long rows of fence
posts for a burrowing owl and occasionally see one. Great-horned owls
frequent tall cottonwood trees around the Agate ranch buildings. This is
also the country of turkey vultures, golden eagles, and prairie falcons,
but we have not been lucky enough to see them yet.
Mammals are more elusive. Cattle pasture conspicuously on land formerly
claimed by the buffalo (bison). We see pronghorns each year. A lone
coyote is the only other relatively large mammal we have logged. Check a
good mammal book and you will appreciate what lives here largely
invisible to the untrained eye: shrews, moles, bats, cottontails and two
kinds of jackrabbits, pocket gophers, prairie dogs, kangaroo rats,
voles, several kinds of mice, two kinds of ground squirrel, muskrats,
beaver, raccoons, minks, badgers, longtailed weasels, two kinds of
skunks, occasional porcupines and bobcats, white-tailed deer, and mule
deer. Consider yourself lucky if you see the swift fox, mountain lion,
and the rare black-footed ferret.
Life abounds here in other forms less noticeable to eyes trained on the
Breeding Bird Survey: various species of amphibians, reptiles, fish, and
the numerous insects associated with grasslands. We hear perhaps too
much about rattlesnakes—western Nebraska has only the prairie rattler,
whose numbers are now much reduced. Other snakes include western
hognosed, blue racer, bullsnake, and the plains, wandering, and
red-sided garter snakes.
Collections of Agate Springs Fossils
Museums You Can Visit
Many museums throughout the world have displays of fossils from the
Agate Fossil Beds. Very few of them actually collected their own
material. Museum curators are dedicated “horse traders” and
fossil-swapping is part of the business. When museums such as the
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh or the American Museum of Natural History
in New York make collections like the ones made at Agate earlier in this
century, they usually have some trading stock left over after completing
their study collections and exhibits. They then can trade an extra
_Menoceras_ slab, for example, for a dinosaur skeleton from some faraway
corner of the Earth.
At several museums in this country you can see mounted skeletons of
several animals found at Agate, along with _Menoceras_ slabs (sections
of rock with the bones still imbedded) or models and dioramas of Agate
specimens. To the right are listed, in order of proximity to the park,
some of the museums and their specimens from Agate.
The United States Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
has many fossils that depict the life of the most recent 65 million
years and several murals by artist Jay H. Matternes showing the life of
each of the epochs. The Miocene mural, reproduced on pages 20-21 of this
handbook, is among these reconstructions. It depicts ancient life around
what is today known as Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.
The Trailside Museum
Fort Robinson, Nebraska 69339.
_Menoceras_ slab, skeleton, and restoration
_Stenomylus_ skeleton on a slab, and a prepared limb
_Palaeocastor_ in a _Daemonelix_
_Palaeocastor_ in a plaster cast
Museum of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701.
_Menoceras_ slab, beautifully prepared
The Geological Museum
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82070.
_Menoceras_, mounted skeleton
_Stenomylus_ slab containing most of a skeleton
University of Nebraska State Museum
101 Morrill Hall, 14th and U Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508.
_Moropus_, mounted skeleton
_Palaeocastor_ skeleton in a _Daemonelix_; also, two other
_Daemonelix_
_Menoceras_ slab
_Dinohyus_ skeleton
_Stenomylus_, a group of skeletons
Field Museum of Natural History
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605.
_Menoceras_ slab
_Moropus_ skeleton
The University of Michigan Exhibit Museum
1109 Geddes Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.
_Menoceras_ slab and mounted skeleton
_Dinohyus_ eating dead Menoceras, a diorama
_Stenomylus_ skeleton and model
Carnegie Museum
4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213.
_Promerycochoerus_ slab
_Menoceras_ slab and mounted skeleton
_Moropus_, mounted skeleton
_Dinohyus_, mounted skeleton
_Stenomylus_, three skeletons mounted in a group
The American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West and 79th St., New York, New York 10024.
_Moropus_ skeleton
_Menoceras_ slab and skulls, one used in a sequence showing
collecting and preparation techniques
_Dinohyus_ skull
_Stenomylus_, nine skeletons and a reconstruction of the group
in life
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Harvard University, Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
_Menoceras_ slab
_Dinohyus_ skeleton
_Stenomylus_ skeleton
NPS Areas With Fossil Exhibits
Several fossil sites in the United States are under the protection of
the National Park Service. Besides Agate, the major ones are:
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
[Illustration: Badlands]
Prominent deposits from the Oligocene Epoch, predecessor to the Miocene,
combine with a rugged, eroded landscape and abundant wildlife to make
Badlands a park where the natural processes of the past combine with
those of today. The National Park Service maintains a Fossil Exhibit
Trail at Badlands and presents fossil cleaning demonstrations. Prominent
fossils are those of ancient camels, giant pigs, sabertooth cats,
_Protoceras_, and _Brontotheres_. Mailing address: P.O. Box 6, Interior,
SD 57750.
Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah
[Illustration: Dinosaur]
The late Jurassic muds and sands of the Morrison Formation have been a
major source of dinosaur bones for more than a century. Steeply tilted
strata near Vernal, Utah, were the source of tons of bones for the
Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh. This quarry site became the nucleus of
Dinosaur National Monument. The bone-bearing stratum has been exposed by
careful excavation, so that bones and partial skeletons of numerous
dinosaurs are exposed in high relief. The entire quarry face is covered
by a glass-walled structure that forms a large gallery. Mailing address:
4545 E. Hwy. 40, Dinosaur, CO 81610.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado
This site has long been famous for its fossils of insects and plants
preserved in fine-grained sediments. Specimens of _Brontothere_ indicate
an Eocene age for the deposits. Mailing address: P.O. Box 185,
Florissant, CO 80816.
[Illustration: Florissant]
Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming
Within the strata of this rock remnant of an ancient lake is one of the
most extensive concentrations of fossilized freshwater fish known to
science. The site is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) west of Kemmerer,
Wyoming. Mailing address: P.O. Box 592, Kemmerer, WY 83101.
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
[Illustration: Petrified Forest]
Here in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation are widespread deposits of
petrified logs. Some are nearly 2 meters in diameter and 60 meters long
(6.5 by 197 feet). Preserved in bright colors of opal and other
minerals, the most common trees are relatives of the living monkey
puzzle or Hawaiian star pine. Paleontologists believe many of the logs
floated to the area in Triassic rivers and became stranded. In the
museum are displays of various fossil plant species and animal fossils
from the same deposits. Mailing address: P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest
National Park, AZ 86028.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon
With a total of about 5,700 hectares (14,100 acres) in several
noncontiguous units in north-central Oregon, this park provides an
extensive record of Earth history dating back at least 37 million years.
Plant and animal fossils are present in great variety. Mailing address:
HCR 82, Box 126, Kimberly, OR 97848.
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho
Within the banks of the Snake River are preserved the last vestiges of
late Pliocene life before the Ice Age and modern flora and fauna
appeared. Mailing address: P.O. Box 570, Hagerman, ID 83332.
Nearby National Parks
While you’re in the Agate Fossil Beds area, why not see some other sites
in the National Park System? These parks offer a variety of experiences
from frontier history presentations to caving.
Badlands National Park is 97 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Rapid
City, South Dakota. This wonderland of bizarre, colorful spires and
pinnacles, massive buttes, and deep gorges is open all year, though
blizzards may temporarily block roads in the winter. Campfire programs
and guided nature walks are presented. Backpackers will enjoy the park’s
wilderness area. The park has a herd of about 300 bison and some prairie
dog towns. Mailing address: P.O. Box 6, Interior, SD 57750.
[Illustration: Devils Tower]
Devils Tower National Monument is 47 kilometers (29 miles) northwest of
Sundance, Wyoming. Known as Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge) to the Lakota, this
towering landmark looms over the Belle Fourche River in the northeast
corner of Wyoming. Here the Black Hills meet the plains grasslands, and
you will likely see prairie dogs, as well as other mammals and a variety
of birds. The park is open all year. Mailing address: P.O. Box 10,
Devils Tower, WY 82714.
[Illustration: Fort Laramie]
Fort Laramie National Historic Site is 5 kilometers (3 miles) southwest
of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. The first fort on the site was built in 1834
and soon became a lucrative center of the fur trade. The U.S. Army took
over in 1849, using the fort to protect the Oregon Trail. The fort was
abandoned by the Army in 1890. Several buildings are furnished as they
would have been during the Army years of the 1870s and 1880s. The park
is open all year. Mailing address: HC 72, Box 389, WY 82212.
Jewel Cave National Monument is located on U.S. 16, 24 kilometers (15
miles) west of Custer, South Dakota. The cave’s name comes from the
myriads of jewel-like calcite crystals that adorn its walls. Tours are
conducted daily from mid-May through September. Tours, if any, the rest
of the year are irregular. Mailing address: RR 1, Box 60 AA, Custer, SD
57730.
[Illustration: Mount Rushmore]
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest
of Rapid City, South Dakota. The mountain sculpture of Washington,
Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln is best viewed under morning
light. From June 1 to Labor Day the faces are illuminated at night. The
park is open all year. Mailing address: P.O. Box 268, Keystone, SD
57751.
[Illustration: Scotts Bluff]
Scotts Bluff National Monument is 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of
Scottsbluff, Nebraska. This massive rock promontory rises 245 meters
(800 feet) above the valley floor, and it served as a landmark to
Indians, fur traders, and settlers traveling the Oregon Trail. It was
named for a fur trapper, Hiram Scott, and has remained a symbol of the
great overland migrations. The park is open all year. Mailing address:
P.O. Box 27, Gering, NE 69341.
Wind Cave National Park is 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Hot Springs
in southwest South Dakota. Two worlds meet here: the underground world
of the cave and the life of the surface prairie. The cave gets its name
from the wind blowing into or out of the cave. Mailing address: RR 1,
Box 190, Hot Springs, SD 57747.
Not So Nearby National Parks
By expanding your travel perimeter even farther beyond Agate Fossil
Beds, you can take in these other National Park System sites.
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area straddles the Montana-Wyoming
border, 67 kilometers (42 miles) from Hardin, Montana, and at Lovell,
Wyoming. Access to boat ramps and campgrounds is from both ends of the
long reservoir. Yellowtail Dam tours are given from Memorial Day to
Labor Day. The visitor centers are open all year. Mailing address: P.O.
Box 458, Fort Smith, Montana 59035.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is 24 kilometers (15 miles)
south of Hardin, Montana. Here on June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George
Armstrong Custer and five 7th Cavalry companies attacked and were
surrounded and killed by Indians. Mailing address: P.O. Box 39, Crow
Agency, MT 59022.
[Illustration: Rocky Mountain]
Rocky Mountain National Park is northwest of Denver and about 3
kilometers (2 miles) west of the community of Estes Park, Colorado. The
park is one of America’s most accessible mountainous areas. Trail Ridge,
which crosses the Continental Divide, offers breathtaking views. Elk,
mule deer, bear, cougar, and bighorn sheep roam mountain crags, meadows,
and valleys. Mailing address: Estes Park, CO 80517.
[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt]
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is on Interstate 94 at Medora, North
Dakota. A separate unit is 90 kilometers (56 miles) north on U.S. 85. In
these magnificantly colored badlands along the Little Missouri River
Roosevelt had an open-range ranch and developed his practical
conservation philosophy. Both units have campgrounds. Mailing address:
P.O. Box 7, Medora, ND 58645.
Armchair Explorations
Some Books You May Want to Read
Bartlett, Richard A., _Great Surveys of the American West_, University
of Oklahoma Press, 1962.
Camp, Charles L., _Earth Song: A Prologue to History_, American West
Publishing Co., 1970.
Colbert, Edwin H., _Evolution of the Vertebrates_, John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., 1969.
Cook, Harold J., _Tales of the 04 Ranch_, University of Nebraska
Press, 1968.
Cook, James H., _Fifty Years on the Old Frontier_, University of
Oklahoma Press, 1980.
Gould, Stephen Jay, _Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural
History_, W. W. Norton and Co., 1977.
Howard, Robert West, _The Dawn-seekers_, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1975.
Johnson, Kirk R. and Richard K. Stucky, _Prehistoric Journey: A
History of Life on Earth_, Roberts Rinehart, 1995.
Lanham, Url, _The Bone Hunters_, Columbia University Press, 1973.
Laporte, Léo F., _Evolution and the Fossil Record_, W. H. Freeman Co.,
1978.
Larson, Robert W., _Red Cloud: Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux_,
University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
Mason, Stephen F., _A History of the Sciences_, Collier Books, 1970.
Meade, Dorothy Cook, _Heart Bags & Handshakes: The Story of the Cook
Collection_, National Woodlands Pub. Co., 1994.
Osborn, Henry F., _Cope: Master Naturalist_, Princeton University
Press, 1931.
Paul, R. Eli, _Autobiography of Red Cloud: War Leader of the Oglalas_,
Montana Historical Society Press, 1997.
Plate, Robert, _The Dinosaur Hunters: Othniel C. Marsh and Edward D.
Cope_, McKay Co., 1964.
Raup, David M. and Steven M. Stanley, _Principles of Paleontology_, W.
H. Freeman Co., 1978.
Romer, Alfred Sherwood, _Vertebrate Paleontology_, University of
Chicago Press, 1966.
Schuchert, Charles and Clara Mae LeVene, _O.C. Marsh: Pioneer in
Paleontology_, Yale University Press, 1940.
Index
_Numbers in italics refer to photographs, illustrations, charts, or
maps._
A
_Aepinacodon_ _54-55_, 60
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument 11, 14, 50;
animals at, _20-22_, 24-34, _84_;
birding at, 81, _82-83_, 85;
established, 17, 78;
geology of 23, 47-52;
museum specimen of, 38, _86-87_;
topography of, 7;
visitor information 77-80
Agate Springs Ranch 7, 10, 17;
excavations at, 38, _39_; fossils from, _40-41_, 86-87
Alligator _54-55_, 60
American Museum of Natural History 14, 38, 52, 87
_Aplodontia_ 32
B
Badlands National Park, South Dakota _88_, 90
Barbour, Erwin H. 11, 14, 38
Big Badlands, South Dakota 49, 52
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana-Wyoming 92
Bittern, American _83_
Blackbird, red-winged _82_
Bone Cabin, Wyoming 48
Breeding Bird Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 81, _82-83_, 85
Buteos (buzzard hawks) 28
C
Cambrian period _46_
Camels. _See_ _Oxydactylus_, _Stenomylus_
Camping 78
Carboniferous period _46_
Carnegie Hill _12-13_, 14, 37, 77
Carnegie Museum 14, 38, 39, _40-41_, 69, 87, 88
Carnivores, small 32-34
Cenozoic Era _46_, 47, 49, 52
Chalicotheres. _See_ _Moropus_
Cheyenne River 52
Cleveland, Utah 48
Colorado Plateau 49
Como Bluff, Wyoming 48
Cook, Eleanor Barbour 14
Cook, Harold 10, 14, 17, 52
Cook, James H. _6_, 8, 10-11, 14, 77;
buys Agate Springs Ranch, 7, 10;
discovers fossils, 11, 24, 38
Cook, Kate Graham 10-11, 14
Cook, Margaret Crozier 17
Cook Museum of Natural History 17
Cope, Edward Drinker _9_, 11, 14
Coyote _84_
Cretaceous period _46_
Curlew, long-billed _82_
Cuvier, Georges 42, _43_, 45
Custer Battlefield National Monument. _See_ _Little Bighorn
Battlefield National Monument_
D
_Daemonelix_ 33, _69_, 70, 86
_Daphoenodon_ _20-21_, 22, 32, 38
Darwin, Charles 43, _44_, 45
Devil’s Corkscrew _76_
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming _90_
Devonian period _46_
_Diceratherium_ 24. _See also_ _Menoceras_
_Dinohyus_ _20-21_, 22, 30, 87
Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah 42, 48, _88_
Drought 35, 36, 50-51
E
Ecology 53, 61-73
_Entelodon_ 30
Entelodont 30
Eocene epoch 25, 27, 29, 31, _46_, 49, 53, 63, 88
_Equus_ 63
Excavations 38, _39_
F
Field Museum of Natural History 87
Flora 7, 10, 53, _54-59_, 60, 71-73
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado 53, 88, _89_
Folsom, New Mexico 14;
spearpoint, 17
Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Wyoming _90_
Fort Robinson State Park, Nebraska 50, 77
Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming 89
Fossils _38-41_, 47, 86-89
G
Geological Museum, University of Wyoming 86
Geology 35, _46_, 47-52
Geese, Canada _82_
Gerenuk 29
Gering Formation 50
Gopher, pocket _84_
Graham, Elisha B. 10
Graham, Mary 10-11
Grasslands 26, 35, 51, 61, 71-72
_Gregorymys_ 33
Guan 28
H
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho 89
Harrison Formation 23, 50, 63
Hawk _56-57_, 60;
marsh _83_;
nighthawk _83_;
Swainson’s _81_
Horses 62-63, _66-67_. _See also_ _Merychippus_, _Miohippus_,
_Parahippus_, _Protohippus_
Hutton, James 45
J
Jackrabbit _84_
Jefferson, Thomas 42
Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota 91
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon 89
Jurassic period _46_
K
Killdeer _83_
L
Laboratory _40-41_
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste de _43_
Laramide Revolution 49
Linnaeus, Carolus _43_
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument 92
Lucretius (Titus Lucretius Carus) 42
Lyell, Charles 42, 43, _45_
M
Map _78_, _79_
Marsh, Othniel C. _8_, _9_, 11
Marsland Formation 50, 51
Matthew, W. D. 52
McJunkin, George 14
Meadowlark, western _83_
_Meniscomys_ 32-33
_Menoceras_ 14, _20-21_, _22_, _24_, 25, 36, 38, 51, 86, 87
_Merychippus_ 52, _58-59_, 60, 62-63
_Merychyus_ _20-21_, 22
Mesozoic era _46_, 47-49
Miocene epoch _46_, 49-52, 71-73;
animals of 20-37, 62, 63, _64-69_, 70;
birds of 28
_Miohippus_ 25-26, 27, 64, _66-67_
Mississippi Embayment 35, 49
Monroe Creek Formation 50
Morrison, Colorado 48
_Moropus_ _20-21_, 22, _29-30_, 86-87
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota _91_
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 87
Museum of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 86
Museums, fossils at _86-87_. _See also_ _American Museum of
Natural History_, _Carnegie Museum_
N
_Nanotragulus_ 27-28
National Park Service 17, 88-92
Nighthawk _83_
_Nimravus_ 32
Niobrara River 7, _16_, 23-24, 36, 37, 50, _54-55_, _60_
North Platte River 52
_Nothocyon_ 32, 33
O
Oglala Sioux Indians 7, 11. _See also_ _Red Cloud_
_Oligobunis_ 32
Oligocene epoch 25, 31, _46_, 49, 50, 52, 53, 70, 88;
animals of 61, 63
Opossum _54-55_, 60
Ordovician period _46_
_Oreodon_ 25, _54-55_, 60, 63
Osborn, Henry F. 14, 38
Owl, great horned _83_
_Oxydactylus_ _20-21_, 22, 28, _56-57_, 60
P
_Palaeocastor_ 14, _20-21_, 22, _33_, 64, _68-69_, 70-71, 77, 86
_Palaeolagus_ 34
Paleocene epoch _46_, 53
Paleozoic era _46_, 47-48
_Parahippus_ _20-21_, 22, _27_, _56-57_, 60, 62, 67
Permian period _46_
Peterson, O. A. 14, 38, 39
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona _89_
Pigs 30-31
Pine Ridge, South Dakota 52
Pleistocene epoch 28-29, _46_, _64_, 67
Pliocene epoch 24-25, 27, _46_, 52, 63
_Portheus_ 48
Precambrian era _46_
_Promerycochoerus_ _20-21_, 22, 25, 87
Pronghorn (artiodactyls) 63, _84_. _See also_ _Syndyoceras_
_Protoceras_ 31
_Protohippus_ 62, 63
_Pseudaelurus_ 32, _58-59_, 60
Q
Quaternary period _46_
R
Red Cloud 9, 11
Rhinoceros 24-25, 50, 51, 63
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 92
Rocky Mountain Revolution 51, 52
Runningwater Formation 51
Rodents 32-34
S
Sandpiper, upland _14_
Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska 49, _91_
Sheep Creek Formation 52
Silurian period _46_
Smiley Canyon, Nebraska 50
Snake, hognose _84_
_Stenomylus_ 14, _20-21_, 22, _29_, 37, _39_, 50, _64-65_, 86, 87;
_hitchcocki_, 51
Sundance Formation 48
_Syndyoceras_ _20-21_, 22, _31_
_Synthetoceras_ 31-32
T
Teeth, high-crowned 62-63
_Temnocyon_ 32
Tertiary period _46_, 53
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota 92
Thompson, Albert 14, 38
Toadstool Park, Nebraska 49
Tortoise 33-34
Trailside Museum, Nebraska 86
Triassic period _46_
U
Uniformitarianism 42, 43, 45
University Hill 7, _12-13_, 35;
digging at, 14;
formation of 37;
tourist facilities at, 77
University of Nebraska State Museum 86
V
Visitor information 77-80, 86-92
Von Linne, Karl _43_
W
Wallace, Alfred _45_
White River 52;
Badlands 31;
Beds 49
Wildflowers 7, 10
Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota 91
Wren, house _82_;
long-billed marsh _82_
★GPO: 1999—454-765/00504
Reprint 1999
National Park Service
The National Park Service expresses its appreciation to all those
persons who made the preparation and production of this handbook
possible. The Service also gratefully acknowledges the financial support
given this handbook project by the Oregon Trail Museum Association, a
nonprofit group that assists interpretive efforts at Agate Fossil Beds
National Monument.
Texts
James R. and Laurie J. Macdonald, authors of “A Landscape Rich With
Life” in Part 2, are paleontologists who live in Sunnyvale, California,
and teach nearby.
Doris B. Gates, writer of “Birding Along the Niobrara” in Part 3, is a
retired biology professor who lives in Chadron, Nebraska.
Maps
R.R. Donnelly & Sons Co. 79.
Illustrations
Jay H. Matternes, who painted the wildlife panoramas and animal
features on the cover and in Part 2, is a paleontological
reconstruction artist who lives in Fairfax, Virginia. In Part
2 his illustrations appear on pages 20-21, 24, 25, 27-33,
54-59, 64-69.
American Museum of Natural History 9 Cope.
Greg Beaumont 14, 81-84.
Carnegie Museum 38-41.
Library of Congress 43-45.
James O. Milmoe 12-13, 15, 16, 76.
Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University 8.
All other illustrations are from the files of Agate Fossil Beds
National Monument and the National Park Service.
U.S. Department of the Interior
The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide
access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust
responsibilities to tribes. The National Park Service preserves
unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National
Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and
future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners
to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and
outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.
Agate Fossil Beds
_Through the remains of animals long extinct, excavated here at
this site, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument tells the story of
the Miocene Epoch—the Age of Mammals—that occurred 5 to 23 million
years ago. The scene on the front cover is from a mural by artist
Jay H. Matternes that depicts animals of the Early Miocene._
[Illustration: _In addition to fossils, the park has an extensive
collection of Plains Indian art and artifacts, such as this shirt
that belonged to Red Cloud._]
Transcriber’s Notes
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—Relocated all image captions to be immediately under the corresponding
images, removing redundant references like “preceding page”.
—Silently corrected a few palpable typos.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
—Conjecturally restored one subsection of the index entry for “Agate
Springs Ranch”