I’m always amazed by the number and variety of different places that the Black Hills and area attractions are mentioned every day.

This week on the Gozaic Blog (a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation) the Hot Springs Mammoth Site was one of the featured attractions. The Mammoth Site is an active fossil dig-in-progress. It is the site of the world’s largest collection of mammoth bones and has become one of the busiest visitor attractions in Hot Springs.

The first mammoth teeth and bones were uncovered at the site back in 1974, when soil was being moved in preparation for an incoming housing development. Local citizens worked to preserve the area and help turn it into the top-notch research and education site that it is today.

Researchers at the Mammoth Site have discovered that back about 26,000 years or so, the area was home to a spring-fed pond that turned much of the ground around it into a sort of quicksand-type trap. It became the unfortunate resting place for what they believe could be more than 100 mammoths and 85 other species of Ice-Age organisms.

To date, 55 Columbian Mammoths and three wooly mammoths have been unearthed. Other fossils that have been found in the area include: a giant short-faced bear, camel, llama, prairie dog, wolf, fish and a number of small invertebrates.

The visitor center is open year-round and has a 30-minute guided tour along with several educational displays including hands-on areas for the young or young-at-heart.

It’s easy to spend a full hour or two at the Mammoth Site, so if you go – be sure to give yourself plenty of time to explore.