Part 10

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.