Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument was established as the 405th unit of the National Park Service Dec. 19, 2014. It was established to "conserve, protect, interpret and enhance for the benefit of present and future generations the unique and nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational and recreational resources and values of the land." The monument is 22,650 acres. It is located just north of Las Vegas, Nevada, and stretches along US Highway 95 north of Aliante and Centennial Hills to Creech Air Force Base. The paleontological period represented at Tule Springs ranges from 200,000 to 3,000 years ago. It is rich with significant paleontological resources from the ice age, including the Columbian Mammoth, extinct horses, camels and bison, and the dire wolf.