Obsidian Cliff
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
.jpg){kind=link}
Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Obsidian Cliff, also known as 48YE433, was an important source of lithic materials for prehistoric peoples in Yellowstone National Park near Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, United States. The cliff was named by Philetus Norris, the second park superintendent in 1878.[1] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.[2][3]
Geography
It is located about Script error: No such module "convert". south of Mammoth Hot Springs, on the east side of the Mammoth-Norris section of the Grand Loop Road.[2] The Obsidian Cliff Kiosk, just north, is also listed on the National Register. Obsidian Cliff is also located on the northern end of Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park. A 1988 wildfire cleared trees from the site, allowing further archaeological expeditions.[4][5]
Geology
The cliff was formed from thick rhyolite lava flow that occurred about 180,000 years ago. The vertical columns are cooling fractures that formed as the thick lava flow cooled and crystallized.[5] The Cliffs stands at an elevation of nearly Script error: No such module "convert". above sea level and goes on for about half a mile. The cliffs also extend between 150 and 200 feet above Obsidian Creek. The flow consists of obsidian, a dark volcanic glass. The obsidian is most abundant at the base of the cliff and slowly tapers off to larger concentrations of pumice at the top.
Significance to Native Americans
Obsidian has been quarried from the site for the past 12,000 years. Highly valued for its sharpness, Obsidian was used by Native Americans throughout the Western United States and Canada as knives, spear/arrow tips, and other ceremonial and sharp-edged objects.[5] Thousands of pounds of obsidian was transported thousands of miles to Ohio using the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers between ~200BC and ~400AD for use as ceremonial goods by the Hopewell Culture.[6][7]
Obsidian Cliff Kiosk
The Obsidian Cliff Kiosk is a small structure that shelters an interpretive exhibit in Yellowstone National Park at Obsidian Cliff. The kiosk was built in 1931 as part of an effort to provide interpretive exhibits along the park's Grand Loop Road. In common with the Fishing Bridge Museum, Madison Museum and Norris Museum, the kiosk exemplifies the National Park Service Rustic style. The interpretive exhibit was designed by National Park Service's Carl Russell, who provided many other innovations in visitor experiences.[8]
This is significant as the first "wayside exhibit" in the National Park system.[8]
Notes
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1". and Template:NHLS url (32 KB)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- ↑ Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Template:Sister-inline
- Template:Sister-inline
- Obsidian Cliff National Historic Landmark at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. WY-99, "Obsidian Cliff Kiosk, Near Obsidian Cliff on Grand Loop Road, Mammoth vicinity, Park County, WY", 1 photo, 1 photo caption page
- Obsidian Cliff Kiosk at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Template:Mammoth Hot Springs Template:NRHP in Yellowstone NP Template:NRHP in Park County, Wyoming Script error: No such module "navbox". Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Landforms of Yellowstone National Park
- Cliffs of Wyoming
- Landforms of Park County, Wyoming
- Volcanism of Wyoming
- Native American history of Wyoming
- National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming
- Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
- Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
- National Register of Historic Places in Park County, Wyoming
- Obsidian
- Quarries in the United States
- Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
- Rustic architecture in Wyoming
- Kiosks
- Historic American Buildings Survey in Wyoming
- National Register of Historic Places in Yellowstone National Park
- 1931 establishments in Wyoming
- Buildings and structures in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming