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Anderson Basin/Circus Basin/Elephant Tusk Basin

NM: Roosevelt Co. ca. 1214 m.

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Location of the Anderson Basin/Circu Basin/Elephant Tusk Basin sites.Age. Late Wisconsin with one probable early Holocene taxon.

General Description. "Blowout" areas along Blackwater Draw that expose Pleistocene sediments. These three sites have been consolidated since they are close geographically and appear to have the same stratigraphic relationships, appearing in a stratum correlated with the gray sand of nearby Blackwater Loc. No. 1 (Morgan and Lucas 2005). Morgan and Lucas, however, treat the Anderson Basin fauna as a unit, but Circus Basin and Elephant Tusk Basin separately.

Discussion. Johnson (1987) notes that Milstead (1967) reports the Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) from Anderson Basin No. 1 as Wisconsin; however, she notes that it's from the diatomite unit which is Early Holocene. This presumably is the specimen reported by Lundelius (1972), citing Stock and Bode (1937).

Fauna

Terrapene ornata—Ornate Box Turtle (Probably Holocene; see discussion)
Mammuthus columbi—Columbian Mammoth
Mephitis mephitis—Striped Skunk
Equus niobrarensis—Niobrara Horse
Camelops hesternus—Yesterday's Camel
Bison antiquus—Ancient Bison

Literature. Harris 1985a; Hester 1972; Johnson 1987; Lucas and Effinger 1991; Lundelius 1972; Milstead 1967; Morgan and Lucas 2005; Stock and Bode 1936; Wendorf and Hester 1975.

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Last Update: 4 Oct 2008