The Saber Site

Rare geologic finds are hiding in unassuming places.

NPS Photo / Serena Rosales

Quick Facts

Significance:

The site of an important fossil discovery, made by a visitor who was just seven years old.

Designation:

Interior, SD

Amenities

2 listed

Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV

In 2010, Kylie Ferguson, a 7-year-old attending a Junior Ranger program, decided to look for fossils next to the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. She found some bone exposed in an outcrop not far from the picnic benches. The fossils were left in place and reported to a ranger. The site was monitored by park paleontologists for the next several weeks. After a few rainfalls, more of the fossil was exposed, revealing the tips of saber teeth. Once park staff realized what Kylie had found, the fossil was recovered, prepared, and curated. Kylie discovered the skull of a nimravid (or false cat) called Hoplophoneus.