Big Bone Lick

Kentucky · USA · Road

Mammoths and mastodons came to these salt springs and died in them. People have been coming for the same salt for thousands of years.

Big Bone Lick in northern Kentucky is one of the most significant fossil sites in North America. Mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths came to the salt springs here, became mired in the marshy ground, and died in enormous numbers. The bones lay on the surface in such quantity that early travellers built shelters out of them.

It is called the birthplace of American paleontology for good reason, and Thomas Jefferson had specimens sent to him from it.

Long before any of that, the people of this country came here for the salt, and the site has a deep and continuous Native history that the fossils tend to overshadow.

What visitors report along the road is whispering, figures they cannot resolve, and sounds they cannot place.

It is a state park with a museum, a bison herd and marked trails.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Big Bone Lick?

Big Bone Lick ligger i Kentucky, USA.