Henry Farney Obsidian Mountain In The Yellowstone

Obsidian Cliff, also known as 48YE433, was an important source of lithic materials for prehistoric peoples in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

near Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The cliff was named by

Philetus Norris Philetus Walter Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was an American pioneer, businessman, Union Army officer and politician who was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that pos ...

, the second park superintendent in 1878. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1996. and

Geography

It is located about south of

Mammoth Hot Springs Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the ...

, on the east side of the Mammoth-Norris section of the

Grand Loop Road The Grand Loop Road is a historic district which encompasses the primary road system in Yellowstone National Park. Much of the system was originally planned by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the early days of ...

. 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.

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. The Cliffs stands at an elevation of nearly 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 Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

, a dark volcanic glass. The obsidian is most abundant at the base of the cliff and slowly tapers off to larger concentrations of

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

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 Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

throughout the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as knives, spear/arrow tips, and other ceremonial and sharp-edged objects. Thousands of pounds of obsidian was transported thousands of miles to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

using the

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, and

rivers between ~200BC and ~400AD for use as ceremonial goods by the

Hopewell Culture The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...

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

. In common with the

Fishing Bridge Museum The Fishing Bridge Museum is one of a series of "trailside museums" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States, designed by architect Herbert Maier in a style that has become known as National Park Service Rustic. It is one of three p ...

, Madison Museum and Norris Museum, the kiosk exemplifies the

National Park Service Rustic National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create building ...

style. The interpretive exhibit was designed by National Park Service's Carl Russell, who provided many other innovations in visitor experiences. This is significant as the first "wayside exhibit" in the National Park system.

Notes

External links

* *
Obsidian Cliff National Historic Landmark
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office *
Obsidian Cliff Kiosk
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office {{Authority control 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

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

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