Greatheart Press

America’s National Parks

Puzzle 32 · The Great Plains · Page 50 in print

Agate Fossil Beds

In 1904 a small rodent skeleton found inside one of Agate’s Daemonelix, the spiral “Devil’s Corkscrews,” suggested they were burrows dug by Palaeocastor, a dry-land beaver that built no dams.

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The green Fossil Hills in the distance display rock outcroppings under a blue cloudy sky.

University and Carnegie Hills mark the fossil-bearing landscape.

NPS Photo · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

A rock formation in the shape of a vertical spiral corkscrew within a rectangular glass case sits in the side of a low hill. A sign stands to the right, and a bench to the left.

A fossil exhibit along the Daemonelix Trail.

NPS Photo · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

The words

  1. Agate

    Agate Fossil Beds, the national monument abbreviated here as Agate.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  2. Beardog

    A beardog, an extinct carnivore whose fossil den is recorded at Agate.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  3. Carnegie Hill

    Carnegie Hill, one of the monument's fossil-bearing quarry hills.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  4. Corkscrew

    The corkscrew form of the fossil beaver burrows.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  5. Daemonelix

    Daemonelix, the fossil spiral burrows made by ancient land beavers.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  6. Fossil Hills

    Fossil Hills, the named hills and trail leading to the fossil quarries.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  7. Fossil Quarry

    A fossil quarry, one of the excavation sites on University and Carnegie Hills.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  8. Harold Cook

    Harold Cook, James Cook’s son who operated Agate Springs Ranch, home of the fossil beds.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  9. James Cook

    James Cook, the local rancher who discovered fossil bones on the hills.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  10. Menoceras

    Menoceras, the extinct rhinoceros represented among the monument's fossils.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  11. Miocene

    The Miocene, the geological epoch represented by the monument's mammal fossils.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  12. Niobrara River

    The Niobrara River, the river beside the Cook ranch and monument.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  13. Palaeocastor

    Palaeocastor, the extinct land beaver whose burrows are preserved here.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  14. Red Cloud

    Red Cloud, the Lakota leader represented in the Cook collection.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  15. Waterhole

    The drying waterhole where ancient mammal remains accumulated.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

Sources

  1. Outdoor Activities - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  2. Mammal Fossils - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  3. Women of Agate - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  4. Things To Do - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  5. History & Culture - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  6. Indoor Activities - Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service
  7. Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentNational Park Service

How we choose sources and photographs