Miracle Mile in Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

When Mammoths Walked on Wilshire

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, November 24, 2025

1. When Mammoths Walked on Wilshire Marker

Inscription. Columbian mammoths lived right here during the last ice age. We call it the Ice Age because thick sheets covered parts of the globe and cooled the planet. Even parts that weren't ice covered like Los Angeles were cooler than now. We study fossils found here to discover what survived and what went extinct during the Ice Age.

All of the plant species we've found among La Brea's Ice Age fossils still live today.

Mammoth losses: Many large animals went extinct as the last Ice Age ended, including Columbian mammoths, American mastodons, Yesterday's camels, dire wolves, ground sloth, and saber-tooth cats.

Smaller survivors: In contrast, hundreds of smaller animals - like rabbits, rodents, birds, bats, coyotes, insects, and snails-are still with us today.

Ice Age L.A. was cooler and wetter
You're standing just 30 feet from Wilshire Boulevard, where Columbian mammoths walked 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Los Angeles was wetter, cooler, and greener when these 11-ton wonders lived and died here.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Environment • Paleontology.

Location. 34° 3.777′ N, 118° 21.328′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California

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, in Los Angeles County. It is in Miracle Mile. It can be reached from South Curson Avenue, on the left when traveling north. The marker is located within Hancock Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 677 S Curson Ave, Los Angeles CA 90036, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Transverse Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Imagining Ice Age L.A. (here, next to this marker); Hancock Park (a few steps from this marker); La Brea Tar Pits (within shouting distance of this marker); Rancho La Brea - National Natural Landmark (within shouting distance of this marker); How did these different types of fossils end up in a tar pit together? (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chester Stock Ph.D. (about 500 feet away); Pits 3, 4, 61/67 (about 600 feet away); Tar seeps form Ice Age time capsules (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 4, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 43 times since then. Photo 1. submitted on January 4, 2026, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.