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Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Kayaking the Snake River
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Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Things To Know Before You Come
View of Hagerman Valley
Cliff & Jean Dickey/NPS Photo
View of Hagerman Valley.
 

Hagerman Valley was formed 14,300 years ago by the Bonneville flood, which gouged out canyons, moved house-sized boulders and left enormous sand bars. The Valley's landscape is dotted with a amazing number of melon gravels giving silent testimony to the colossal flood.

The Valley is a land of water, with hot and cold springs, volcanic lava flows, deep box canyons, fossil beds, and vast rock formations. It is the canyon of the mighty Pohogawa, River of the Sage Plain, as the Indians called the Snake River, with its rapids, whirlpools, waterfalls, and associated wildlife. It is a land of melon farming, waterfowl, deer, and trout. It is a land of hot summers and mild winters; a land that has served the Indian, the trapper, the emigrant, the settler, and the farmer and rancher for hundreds of years.

Today the town offers a number of services including: 2 service stations, 3+ restaurants, a bank, and a grocery store, as well as a number of little shops. 

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Horse fossil removed during the 1929 excavation of the Fossil Beds.

Did You Know?
The Smithsonian began excavating the Fossil Beds in 1929. J.W. Gidley conducted the first excavation. Altogether they conducted 4 major excavations of the area.

Last Updated: July 08, 2011 at 15:46 MST