Near Hagerman in Gooding County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)

Where are the Fossils?

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 8, 2019

1. Where are the Fossils? Marker

Caption: (insert) The Smithsonian Institution conducted its first excavation on the Hagerman Fossil Beds in 1929.

Inscription. Step back in time, three to four million years, and imagine a place were zebra-like horses, ground sloths, mastodons, and other amazing creatures roamed. Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is filled with fossil evidence of their existence in the 600 foot bluffs you see along the Snake River. In 1988, Congress established this 4,394 acre monument to preserve deposits of these Pliocene Epoch fossils. With continued research, we may learn the answer to the commonly asked question: What happened to these creatures?

(side-bar on right:)
Paleontologists - scientists who study fossils - first excavated the Hagerman Horse (Equus simplicidens) and many other fossils in 1929 and during the 1930s.
An artist's rendering of the Hagerman Horse skeleton (top), its bones with flesh (middle), and how it may have looked (bottom). Scientists believe that it may have looked similar to the modern-day zebra.

Erected by Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Paleontology.

Location. 42° 45.793′ N, 114° 55.317′ W. Marker is near Hagerman, Idaho, in Gooding County. Marker is on

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Bell Rapids Road near Upper Salmon Falls Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hagerman ID 83332, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. "The People" (within shouting distance of this marker); A Changing Climate (within shouting distance of this marker); Sediments and Fossils (within shouting distance of this marker); Ancient Lakes (within shouting distance of this marker); Right Beneath Your Feet (approx. 1.9 miles away); Volcanoes Along the Snake (approx. 1.9 miles away); Manifest Destiny (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Great Westward Migration (approx. 2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hagerman.

More about this marker. This marker is located at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 8, 2019

2. Where are the Fossils? Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 14, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 14, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 166 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 14, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.