Rhinos in Nebraska

The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds

By: Alison Pearce Stevens

Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin

Twelve million years ago, rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America. They would gather at nearby watering holes - eating, drinking, and trying not to become someone else's lunch. But one day, in what we now know as Nebraska, everything changed. The explosion of a supervolcano a thousand miles away sent a blanket of ash that buried these animals for millennia.

Until 1953, when a 17-year-old farm worker made an unbelievable discovery.

Rhinos in Nebraska tells the story of the Ashfall Fossil Beds, where more than 200 perfectly preserved fossils have been found. Step into the past with author Alison Pearce Stevens and uncover the mysteries of Ashfall.

©2021 Alison Pearce Stevens (P)2021 Spotify Audiobooks

Quick overview of Ashfall Fossil Beds

This book is about the discovery of and implications of the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Antelope County, Nebraska. The author asserts that 10-12 million years ago (sigh!) there was an explosion in what is now near Yellowstone that produced a cloud of volcanic ash that drifted eastward causing the animals to inhale it and die. Fossil remains were first found in 1971 by a 17-year old farmer when a juvenile rhino skull was poking out of the ground. The site is still being excavated. To date they have found over 19 skeletal remains of hippo like creatures related to the horse, camels, sabre-toothed tigers, and a dog-like bone crushing mammal, among others. Great quick overview of the discovery and remains. It might be a YA book, though that is not indicated.