General Info

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is recognized as the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology for it's significant role in the development of scientific thought regarding extinction and the relationship of geology and paleontology the world over. The park has been named a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The park is famous for its combination of salt springs and late Pleistocene bone beds. Ancient creatures like the mammoth, mastodon, and ground sloth prehistorically visited the mineral springs, swamps, and bogs that are now grassy plains covered with trees and shrubs.Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is recognized as the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology for it's significant role in the development of scientific thought regarding extinction and the relationship of geology and paleontology the world over. The park has been named a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The park is famous for its combination of salt springs and late Pleistocene bone beds. Ancient creatures like the mammoth, mastodon, and ground sloth prehistorically visited the mineral springs, swamps, and bogs that are now grassy plains covered with trees and shrubs.