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Sheepeater Cliffs
Cliff
on
Gardner River
in
Yellowstone NP
,
Rocky Mountains
near
Mammoth
,
WY
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In 1879, Park Superintendent Philetus Norris recognized the cultural and geological significance of the Sheepeaters Cliff area. He named the secluded volcanic valley after a band of Shoshone Native Americans known as the Tukudika or “eaters of mountain sheep”.
Norris discovered wickiup shelters and a bighorn sheep drive line there (Norris 1880, 35-36):
Other traces of this tribe are found in the rude, decaying, and often extensive pole or brush fences for drive-ways of the deer, bison, and other animals to the arrows-coverts, in the canons or in the narrow passes between them, for slaughter with their rude lances and obsidian-headed arrows.
— Norris
One of the most accessible of these drive-ways is upon the southern cliff of the impassable canon of the West Gardiner [Glen Creek], having its evidently more recent arrow-covert within point-blank range of its verge over-looking Rustic Falls.
— Norris
From this covert there are traces of one wing that skirted the valley toward Swan Lake, and of another that wound through droves of pine at the base of Bunsen’s Peak, far toward the Sheep Eater Cliffs, upon the Middle Gardiner, nearly two miles distant.
— Norris
While practicing a hunting and gathering lifestyle in the mountain regions in and around Yellowstone, they have become known for:
Being the “sheep eaters” band, while other Shoshone bands were the “salmon eaters”, “elk eaters”, and “bison eaters”.
Using drive lines made of stone and timber to efficiently hunt elusive bighorn sheep at high mountain elevations.
Crafting powerful high quality bows from bighorn ram’s horn.
Shaping surgery sharp obsidian arrowheads using hammer stones and antler tines. While using a marmot’s jaw bone to pressure flake small notches at the point’s base for arrow shaft attachment.
Tanning sheepskin into high-quality clothing.
Carving food bowls and ladles out of soapstone and mountain sheep horn; and hair combs from sheep bone.
Harvesting and processing Whitebark Pine nuts as a major source of protein. Getting at least half of their diet from plants, roots, nuts, and berries.
Tukudika’s Chief Togwotee, whose name means “Lance Thrower” in 1873, guided Captain William A, Jones over Togwotee Pass. He was also a guide for President Chester A. Arthur’s 1883 trip through Yellowstone.
The Tukudikas were incorporated into the Wind River and Fort Hall Reservations, with some descendants preferring the name “Mountain People”.
Sheepeater Cliff Trail
At the confluence of Gardner River and Obsidian Creek, you can admire the majestic stone cliffs and their vertical honeycombed lava pillars. Taking the short Sheepeater Cliff Trail along the river leads to another columnar lava cliff. After which, the inaccessible Sheepeater Canyon floor plunges the river into cascades and the two waterfalls, Tukuarika and Osprey. To view Osprey Falls, take the Osprey Falls Trail canyon switchbacks to the canyon floor.
Geology
Sheepeater Cliffs comprise columnar basalt, deposited by lava flows approximately 500,000 years old. The vertical joints and adjacent hexagonal columns happened when the lava cooled slowly. Later, ice from glaciers and then the Gardner River exposed the cliffs.
The Sheepeater Cliffs offers the most accessible view of basaltic columnar jointing in Yellowstone.
However, a few miles south, Obsidian Cliff showcases a rhyolite lava flow with columns, but visitors cannot hike in the area.
Farther east, the Tower Fall area has the Calcite Springs Overlook with distant views of two basaltic lava flows with columnar jointing. Also, next to the busy highway at Tower Falls, Overhanging Cliff shows the same type of columns.
Sources
Chittenden, Hiram Martin.
Yellowstone National Park
. Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company, 1895.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42112/42112-h/42112-h.htm
.
Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum. “High Rise Village.” Accessed December 6, 2023.
https://jacksonholehistory.org/high-rise-village/
.
Inside Yellowstone - Sheepeater Cliff
. Video, 2007.
https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=007BBFE1-155D-451F-6779FB37D3D5BC36
.
Norris, Philetus W. [1880]
Annual Report Of The Yellowstone National Park To The Secretary Of The Interior For The Year 1880.
Montana History Portal, accessed 04/12/2023,
https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/104720
NPS. “Historic Tribes - Yellowstone National Park,” October 11, 2023.
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/historic-tribes.htm
.
NPS. “Sheepeater Cliff,” July 21, 2021.
https://www.nps.gov/places/000/sheepeater-cliff.htm
.
USGS, and Michael Poland. “The Spectacular Columns of Sheepeater Cliffs,” April 25, 2021.
https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/spectacular-columns-sheepeater-cliffs
.
Whittlesey, L.H.
Yellowstone Place Names
. Second. Wonderland Publishing Company, 2006.
Taxonomy
Classified As
Cliff
Waterbody
Gardner River
River
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