Obsidian Cliff
{{Short description|United States historic place in Wyoming}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Obsidian Cliff
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Obsidian Cliff YNP1.jpg
| caption = Obsidian Cliff
| nearest_city= Mammoth Hot Springs, WY
| locmapin = Wyoming
| coordinates = {{coord|44.8189|-110.7278|type:landmark_region:US-WY|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{convert|3580|acre|km2}}
| architecture =
| added = June 19, 1996{{NRISref|2007a}}
| refnum = 96000973
}}
File:Henry Farney Obsidian Mountain In The Yellowstone.jpg]]
File:Yellowstone Park, illustrated--II - DPLA - c540d2b90d5a445aab7c953e213d38b6 (cropped).jpg{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Obsidian Cliff Kiosk
| nrhp_type =
| image = Obsidian Cliff kiosk YNP1.jpg
| caption =
| nearest_city = Mammoth, Wyoming
| coordinates = {{coord|44|49|26.38|N|110|43|45.3|W|display=inline}}
| area =
| built = 1931
| architect = National Park Service
| architecture =
| added = July 9, 1982{{NRISref|2008a}}
| mpsub = Yellowstone National Park MPS
| refnum = 82001719
}}Obsidian Cliff, also known as 48YE433, was an important source of lithic materials for prehistoric peoples in Yellowstone National Park near Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming, United States. The cliff was named by Philetus Norris, the second park superintendent in 1878.{{cite book |last=Whittlesey |first=Lee |title=Yellowstone Place Names |publisher=Montana Historical Society Press |location=Helena, MT |isbn=0-917298-15-2 |year=1988 |pages=114}} It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996.{{Cite journal|title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: Obsidian Cliff|url={{NHLS url|id=96000973}} |format=pdf|date=January 28, 1993 |author1=Ann M. Johnson |author2=Leslie B. Davis |author3=Stephen A. Aaberg |name-list-style=amp |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=96000973|title=Accompanying nine photos, from 1884, 1889, 1920 and 1989|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}}
Geography
It is located about {{convert|13|mi}} south of Mammoth Hot Springs, on the east side of the Mammoth-Norris section of the Grand Loop Road. The Obsidian Cliff Kiosk, just north, is also listed on the National Register. Obsidian Cliff is also located on the northern end of Beaver Lake in Yellowstone National Park. A 1988 wildfire cleared trees from the site, allowing further archaeological expeditions.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |date=4 April 2022 |title=Obsidian Cliff – Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/obsidiancliff.htm |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Robbins |first=Jim |date=20 March 2023 |title=Obsidian Cliff: Humanity's Tool Shed for the Last 11,500 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/science/yellowstone-indigenous-people-obsidian.html|access-date=8 May 2024 |work=The New York Times}}
Geology
The cliff was formed from thick rhyolite lava flow that occurred about 180,000 years ago. The vertical columns are cooling fractures that formed as the thick lava flow cooled and crystallized. The Cliffs stands at an elevation of nearly {{convert|7400|ft}} above sea level and goes on for about half a mile. The cliffs also extend between 150 and 200 feet above Obsidian Creek. The flow consists of obsidian, a dark volcanic glass. The obsidian is most abundant at the base of the cliff and slowly tapers off to larger concentrations of pumice at the top.
Significance to Native Americans
Obsidian has been quarried from the site for the past 12,000 years. Highly valued for its sharpness, Obsidian was used by Native Americans throughout the Western United States and Canada as knives, spear/arrow tips, and other ceremonial and sharp-edged objects. Thousands of pounds of obsidian was transported thousands of miles to Ohio using the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers between ~200BC and ~400AD for use as ceremonial goods by the Hopewell Culture.{{Cite book |last=Lynott |first=Mark |title=Hopewell Ceremonial Landscapes of Ohio |date=2014 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=978-1-78297-754-4 |pages=58–59, 201}}{{Cite journal |last1=Griffin |first1=James |last2=Gordus |first2=A. A. |last3=Wright |first3=G. A. |date=January 1969 |title=Identification of the Sources of Hopewellian Obsidian in the Middle West |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/278309 |journal=American Antiquity |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.2307/278309 |jstor=278309 |url-access=subscription }}
Obsidian Cliff Kiosk
The Obsidian Cliff Kiosk is a small structure that shelters an interpretive exhibit in Yellowstone National Park at Obsidian Cliff. The kiosk was built in 1931 as part of an effort to provide interpretive exhibits along the park's Grand Loop Road. In common with the Fishing Bridge Museum, Madison Museum and Norris Museum, the kiosk exemplifies the National Park Service Rustic style. The interpretive exhibit was designed by National Park Service's Carl Russell, who provided many other innovations in visitor experiences.{{Cite journal |author=Mary Shivers Culpin |date=November 30, 1981 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Obsidian Cliff Kiosk |url={{NRHP url|id=82001719}} |format=pdf |publisher=National Park Service}}
This is significant as the first "wayside exhibit" in the National Park system.
Notes
{{Reflist|22em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Obsidian Cliff}}
- {{commons category-inline|Obsidian Cliff Kiosk}}
- [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=494 Obsidian Cliff National Historic Landmark] at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
- {{HABS|survey=WY-99|id=wy0126|title=Obsidian Cliff Kiosk, Near Obsidian Cliff on Grand Loop Road, Mammoth vicinity, Park County, WY|photos=1|cap=1}}
- [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/site.aspx?id=493 Obsidian Cliff Kiosk] at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
{{Mammoth Hot Springs}}
{{NRHP in Yellowstone NP}}
{{NRHP in Park County, Wyoming}}
{{Wyoming}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Landforms of Yellowstone National Park
Category:Landforms of Park County, Wyoming
Category:Native American history of Wyoming
Category:National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming
Category:Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Park County, Wyoming
Category:Quarries in the United States
Category:Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming
Category:Rustic architecture in Wyoming
Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Wyoming
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Yellowstone National Park
Category:1931 establishments in Wyoming
Category:Buildings and structures in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming