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NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Waco Mammoth National Monument, Texas

Waco Mammoth National Monument

Geodiversity refers to the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in the park. A product of the Geologic Resources Inventory, the NPS Geodiversity Atlas delivers information in support of education, Geoconservation, and integrated management of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the ecosystem.

Photo of a person working with tools to clean a fossil bone murals of mammoths can be seen in the background
Geoscientist-in-the-Parks participant Marlee Yard preparing a fossil rib bone at the WACO site. Waco Mammoth National Monument, Texas.

NPS photo, 2020.

Introduction

Waco Mammoth National Monument was designated a unit of the national park system on July 10, 2015, an act that brought the National Park Service into partnership with the City of Waco, Texas, and Baylor University. The purpose of this partnership is to preserve and interpret the discovery site of an exceptionally well-preserved herd of Columbian mammoths and other Pleistocene-Epoch animals. The site’s designation as a national monument represents a culmination of nearly four decades of scientific research and community support.

The site consists of 108 acres within its authorized boundary, of which a 4.93-acre parcel around the discovery site is owned by the National Park Service. The remaining land is owned by the City of Waco. (NPS Foundation Document WACO, 2016)

Fossil Resources

The Waco site is located within the city limits of Waco, Texas, near the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers. The first mammoth fossils at the site were found in 1978 by two Waco residents, Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin, who noticed a bone protruding from the sidewall while hiking through a ravine (now within the monument). Scientists at the Strecker Museum at Baylor University examined the bone and identified it as an upper leg bone from a Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Subsequent excavations led by Baylor University have identified no fewer than 24 Columbian mammoth individuals, including 19 members of a nursery herd (a herd consisting of female and young mammoths) which is thought to have perished in a catastrophic natural event more than 65,000 years ago. (NPS Foundation Document WACO, 2016)
Photo of Waco Mammoth National Monumnet site brochure with large mammoth and text too small to read
Waco Mammoth National Monument Brochure.

NPS image.

Mammoths in North America

Mammoths lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch (more commonly known as the Ice Age) and are thought to have migrated across the Bering Land Bridge from northeastern Siberia approximately 1.7 million years ago. The Columbian mammoth evolved from these ancestral mammoths by the end of the middle Pleistocene, approximately 126,000 years ago. The Columbian mammoth ranged over much of North America, including most of today’s contiguous United States and reached as far south as Costa Rica. Standing more than 14 feet tall and weighing up to 20,000 pounds, the Columbian mammoth was the largest of three known mammoth species of that epoch and were larger than modern-day elephants. The Columbian mammoth and all other mammoth species in North America became extinct approximately 10,000 years ago. (NPS Foundation Document WACO, 2016)

Regional Geology

Waco Mammoth site is a part of the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province and shares its geologic history and some characteristic geologic formations with a region that extends well beyond park boundaries.

Maps and Reports

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Waco Mammoth National Monument

Showing results 1-10 of 12

  • NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Waco Mammoth National Monument, Texas

    • Locations: Waco Mammoth National Monument
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    Photo of mammoth fossils in situ including tusks, teeth, and bones

    Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

  • Cenozoic Era

    • Locations: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Badlands National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park,
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    fossils on display in a visitor center

    The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths.

  • Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 11, No. 1, Spring 2019

    • Type: Series
    • Locations: Badlands National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Waco Mammoth National Monument
    Tule Springs Fossil Beds

    All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. Park Paleontology news provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources.

  • Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 2023

    • Type: Series
    • Locations: Bryce Canyon National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Waco Mammoth National Monument, Wind Cave National Park
    three people working in a fossil quarry

    All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. Park Paleontology news provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources.

  • Expanding Access to Learning about Paleontology through Interpretive Programming in Spanish at Waco Mammoth National Monument

    • Locations: Waco Mammoth National Monument
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    two people talking over an interpretive display

    Leonardo Maduro-Salvarrey was recruited as an interpretation and education intern at Waco Mammoth National Monument during 2022. Leo helped to coordinate educational outreach to Spanish speaking visitors to the monument interested in learning about the fossils.

  • First Paleontologist Hired at Waco Mammoth National Monument

    • Locations: Waco Mammoth National Monument
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    park ranger in uniform

    Waco Mammoth National Monument was proclaimed a unit of the National Park Service in July 2015 to protect and interpret an assemblage of mammoths believed to represent a nursery herd. The first paleontologist for the monument, Lindsey Yann, was hired in January 2020 to help promote scientific research, resource management and public education.

  • Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils

    • Type: Series
    • Locations: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Arches National Park,
    photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface

    The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian.

  • Quaternary Period—2.58 MYA to Today

    • Locations: Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capulin Volcano National Monument,
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    fossil bone bed and murals of mammoths

    Massive ice sheets advanced and retreated across North America during much of the Quaternary, carving landscapes in many parks. Bering Land Bridge National Preserve contains geologic evidence of lower sea level during glacial periods, facilitating the prehistoric peopling of the Americas. The youngest rocks in the NPS include the lava of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the travertine at Yellowstone National Park, which can be just a few hours old.

  • Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Cenozoic Era

    • Type: Series
    • Locations: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Badlands National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Big Bend National Park,
    fossils on display at a visitor center

    The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths.

  • Bringing The Past Alive: Mammoth Behavior Seen Through Waco Mammoth National Monument and its Impact on Interpretation

    • Locations: Waco Mammoth National Monument
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    a life size Colombian mammoth painting

    The mammoths of Waco Mammoth National Monument have undoubtedly changed the way people view these Ice Age creatures. Through the discovery of the first and only Columbian mammoth nursery herd, the public is provided a glimpse of what life was like for these animals through their habits and social structure.

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National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas

The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on geoheritage and geodiversity resources and values within the National Park System. This information supports science-based geoconservation and interpretation in the NPS, as well as STEM education in schools, museums, and field camps. The NPS Geologic Resources Division and many parks work with National and International geoconservation communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available.

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Last updated: January 23, 2025