Washington: Mammuthus columbi (state fossil)
Washington: Mammuthus columbi (state fossil)
Washington is the most recent of three states to choose a mammoth as its state fossil. The particular mammoth Washington has chosen, the Columbian mammoth, inhabited the state during the Pleistocene Epoch, 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago, when much of North America was covered by great sheets of ice.
The Columbian mammoth was huge, standing 13 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing as much as 10 tons. The most common mammoth fossils found in Washington are the large molar teeth, which are composed of a series of ridged plates, and are sometimes described as looking like the soles of tennis shoes or a stack of fig newtons. These teeth helped the mammoth chew grasses and other tough vegetation -- this large member of the elephant family may have eaten as much as 700 pounds of vegetation a day!
It is not known who discovered the first mammoth fossils in Washington, although it is likely that Native Americans came across them occasionally. There are over 40 documented mammoth discoveries in the state, including a bonanza of bones found in 1996 on the Olympic Peninsula. In 2001, a tusk was uncovered near Yakima during grading of a parking lot.
A group of elementary school students embarked on a four-year campaign to designate the Columbian mammoth the state fossil, finally succeeding in 1998.
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