Science in Practice Portal

Mineral Hill Cave has attracted the attention of miners, explorers, surveyors, and scientists for more than 130 years. This report focuses on the paleontological significance of the cave. A diverse suite of bones from extinct and extant mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish have been recovered from the clay sediments inside Mineral Hill Cave since the mid-1970 's. The bulk of the scientific excavations, however, were recently completed by the Elko Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management between 1997-2000.