Ice Age Ecosystem Discovered in Colorado

Nov. 9, 2010 — -- As the sun rises over a vast muddy pit in the Rocky Mountains near Colorado's Snowmass Village ski resort, it is shining new light on an entire ice age ecosystem long buried just beneath the surface.

Since October 14, when a bulldozer operator helping to dig a new water reservoir stumbled across bones from an ancient Columbian mammoth, researchers have unearthed what they call one of the most significant fossil discoveries in Colorado history.

"Every day blows us away," said paleontologist Ian Miller of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. "It's one of the most exciting paleontological moments of my life. It's unprecedented in Colorado, and may turn out to be unprecedented in the American West."

So far, crews have excavated the prehistoric bones of mammoths, mastodons, ice age deer and ground sloths, from the site of an ancient lake the animals likely used as a watering hole. The reservoir at the ski resort was being dug to help store water used for making snow.

"The reason there's a whole bunch of animals here is that a hole in the ground like this that fills with water and mud at the bottom, is a great place to preserve stuff for a long period of time," Miller said.

Columbian mammoths roamed North America during the ice age. The largest ranged from about 12 to 13 feet high and weighed up to ten tons. Mastodons, which are distant cousins to mammoths and elephants, stood about eight to ten feet tall and could weigh around eight to ten tons.