• View of the Monument across the Snake River

    Hagerman Fossil Beds

    National Monument Idaho

Reptiles

Gopher Snake

Gopher Snake

NPS Photo

Rock outcrops and warm summer temperatures make Hagerman a haven for reptiles and amphibians.

Striped whip snakes, western rattlesnakes, and gopher snakes hunt among rock-strewn boulder fields, while short-horned, western whiptail and sagebrush lizards bask in the sun.

Western and Great Basin spadefoot toads inhabit the various moist areas and bullfrogs, northern leopard frogs, pacific tree frogs, and striped chorus frogs can be heard singing in the distance.

Did You Know?

View of current wetlands

The Monument’s fossil record includes plants and animals that lived in the Hagerman area about 3.5 million years ago in a wet and mostly forested floodplain.