Nebraska's Ashfall Fossil Beds is a 'one-of-a-kind place'

There, buried in up to 10 feet of ash, is the story of Nebraska’s history from about 12 million years ago. A violent volcanic eruption in present-day Idaho, 1,000 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens blast, covered much of Nebraska in fine volcanic ash. Hundreds of animals that sought refuge at a watering hole slowly died off and were buried.

The large number of animals found preserved intact makes Ashfall a rare find.

“This is really a one-of-a-kind place in the world at this point,” said Sandy Mosel, museum associate. “We have people come from all over the world to see Ashfall. There are a lot of people who are fossil enthusiasts who have Ashfall on their lifetime bucket list.”

Ashfall also is one of 70 stops in this year’s Nebraska Passport tourism promotion program. It's about 7 miles north of Nebraska Highway 20 at Royal.

“Because it’s located in a place that doesn’t seem very exotic, people are like, ‘well it can’t be that special.’ But it is. It’s such a rare sight. It’s just such a beautiful fossil site, and it’s such a joy to be able to open it up and let the public actually see science at work," Mosel said. "There are very few places where you can do that, where you can actually see the process of science at work."

Since the first fossil was discovered in 1971 by paleontologist Mike Voorhies, more than 200 complete or nearly complete skeletons have been unearthed and more are sure to be revealed as Ashfall is an active dig site. Interns spend each summer continuing the painstaking process of searching the ash, scraping off thin layers at a time, to see what additional history they can find.

Visitors to Ashfall can watch the interns at work in the Hubbard Rhino Barn that completely covers the dig site. Posters line the walls of the barn describing animals known to have lived in the area. And there’s an onsite educator to answer any questions visitors might have.

Ashfall is wheelchair accessible except for the nature trails which are grass or rock. Anything relating to fossils is handicapped accessible.

In addition to the fossils in the Rhino Barn, Ashfall has a child-friendly exhibit for 2023 called “Poop & Paws” which shows how to identify animals by their tracks, scat and other clues.

“We just want to get kids excited about science,” said Mosel.

Little ones will also enjoy the children’s barn. Three full-sized replicas of animals found in the Rhino Barn are buried in fine gravel. Kids can use paintbrushes to slowly unbury the fossils. There are also puzzles, displays of fossilized teeth and petrified wood and topographical and river maps of Nebraska.

“We try and make sure here at Ashfall that there’s stuff for the little guys to be interested in and stuff for the real academic student to be able to find something that entices them and all the stages in between that. That’s our goal,” said Mosel.

The Nebraska Passport program, which encourages Nebraskans and others to visit a variety of attractions, parks, coffee shops, restaurants, stores and more across the state, is an added draw this year. Passport participants collect physical or digital stamps at each stop, and qualify for prizes based on how many places they visit during the program, which runs through Sept. 30.

“The passport program activity itself does get people off the beaten path,” Mosel said. “It’s really a good thing because there’s great stuff out here.”