Some 10 million years ago, give or take a few million years, the Great Plains of the Central United States was not unlike the Africa of today. Animals that fed upon the abundant grass were in turn preyed upon by a wide variety of carnivores. These animals are of course now extinct but we have a most graphic record of their existence, not only of how they lived but the relative abundance of them.
The area which included Iowa all the way to Idaho was rift with active volcanos and from time to time, eruptions of massive size occurred. Such was the event that entrapped the animals of Ashfall. Westerly winds picking up the ash spewed from the volcano presumed to having been in Idaho and spread it across the area. As the volcanic ash fell, it covered the plains. One can imagine that at first the sky was darkened, to a redish haze then as the ash began to fall, the grass was covered with the dry, abrasive, grey-white pumice. There was no escaping the pending catastrophe. Even the streams and watering places were soon covered.
One such place was located about 80 miles straight west from Sioux City, Iowa. Here a watering hole, know to the animals, soon became the sole source of water. But in its offering of water, it proved to be an entrapment from which few could escape. The ash in continuing to fall, created a mire when mixed with water. As heavier animals pushed farther into the watering hole seeking water, they became entrapped. Then the predatory beast came to feed on the carnage, but they in turn were trapped. Soon birds of prey and others fell victim. Then finally silence.
The prairie is once again green with native grasses and wild flowers. The land located just beyond the reach of the glaciers that moved across the United States has remained untouched for these millions of years until a fortunate discovery found a few remains of animals long past.
Careful excavation revealed that there were more than just a few random bones scattered by an errant stream and piled up in a jumble as is the case in most fossil beds. No, this was a once in a million discovery that is still being developed. Dr. Michael Vorrhies is credited with the discovery and paleontologists began excavation of the fossil site in the 70s.
At Ashfall are the intact skeletons of miniature (deer-sized) horses, horses with cloven hooves, camels, rhinos, just to mention a few. Because the calamity was so swift, predatory animals were unable to destroy the carcasses and scatter the bones, Thus young are there in the presence of their dams, along with the remains of other animals that came to hole. One can imagine that the desire for water was so intense that feeding on the entrapped animals was secondary to obtaining water. So here they remain to this day. In many instances, the intact skeletal remains of one animal lies underneath that of another, all encased in the fine pumice.
This is an active excavation. Under what appears to be just another farm "Butler" type building (dubbed the "Rhino Barn"), you can watch students carefully excavate the ash from around fossils. Some forty (40) different species of animals and plants have been identified and because of the size of the site more discoveries are to be expected. While many fossils have been removed, the abundance permits a graphic display of the way in which the animals came to their final resting place. An almost intact skeleton of a miniature horse lies exposed, the pumice having been carefully removed. Nearby, on a pinnacle of ash, rest a small skull of an animal now extinct and jutting from the dry, clay-like matrix are the ribs and back-quarter of yet another animal, not yet identified. Whereever you look, there is more. The area appears not unlike a beach where children have built numerous sandcastles, each containing a treasure. The exception being that nature created this one of a kind display.
Ashfall remains one of the Nation's best kept secrets. This is a Nebraska State resource of which they are justifiably proud. The best part is that it is free and just a short drive away from the interstates that offer so little to those passing through. In fact, one can visit the Missouri river's last dam at Yankton, South Dakota. Then swing North to Mitchell to see the "Corn Palace" (Words can't describe the massive pictures created using ears of corn that rival any captured with the camera or the brush.) And then continue on to the Black Hills if you desire.
Or, perhaps if fossils are in your bones, then you may want to visit the fossil beds at Jim Cook's old stomping grounds. This is farther west near Chadron, Nebraska (one of the cleanest towns I have ever visited.) At the local hotel you can order buffalo steak (this is a "don't complain, no-returns" item on the menu that has few takers, but why not be daring).
Jim Cook's ranch is the place where Chief Red Cloud finally found peace in his war against the invading hordes. This is where he enjoyed taking his family to spend time with his friend Jim Cook. You can sit under cottonwood trees next to the small stream, just as the early settlers and indians did as they sought refuge from the summer heat. At Agate Falls National Park (on the ranch) you can see another accumulation of old bones, why not visit and see the difference, not only in the way that Nature acted to preserve the past but the difference between how a State protects the treasures versus the Federal Government's attempts.
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