Agnostik
National Monument · NE

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

In the early 1900s, paleontologists unearthed the Age of Mammals when they found full skeletons of extinct Miocene mammals in the hills of Nebraska -- species previously only known through fragments. At the same time, an age of friendship began between rancher James Cook and Chief Red Cloud of the Lakota. These two unprecedented events are preserved and protected here... at Agate Fossil Beds.

nps.gov ↗

Photos

The visitor center sits in the middle of mixed grass prairie.
From the Fossil Hills Trail the Visitor Center is a ship in a sea of prairie grasses.
Tipis and Fossil Hills represent the two subjects that Agate Fossil Beds interprets.
One of the first impressions that visitors have are the tipis and the Fossil Hills.
Thunderheads are common in July.
Summer storms include thunderheads and lightning and can be exciting and dangerous.
The Dinohyus was a scavenger, nicknamed "Terrible Pig"
Visitors stare in wonder at the huge head of the "apex" predator of the plains some 20 million years ago.
This buckskin shirt decorated with quills was worn by Red Cloud.
Visitors agree that this shirt decorated with quillwork and worn by Red Cloud of the Oglala Lakota is a priceless piece of history.

Activities

  • Arts and Culture
  • Cultural Demonstrations
  • Astronomy
  • Stargazing
  • Food
  • Picnicking
  • Guided Tours
  • Self-Guided Tours - Walking
  • Hiking
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Wildlife Watching
  • Birdwatching
  • Park Film
  • Museum Exhibits
  • Shopping
  • Bookstore and Park Store