The Paleontology of North America

The Quaternary in South Dakota, US

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See exposures in this state from the:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian

Quaternary Fossils
Fossil photos from Quaternary in South Dakota

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Paleontology and geology

During the Quaternary, ice sheets advancing across the eastern part of the state changed the face of South Dakota. The melting ice deposited a thin veneer of gravels and sands that eventually defined the course of the Missouri River across the state. Vertebrate fossils found in these deposits include those of bison, mammoth, mastodon, and horse. There is no evidence of glaciation in western South Dakota, but both wind and water modified the landscape, resulting in the formation of extensive sand dunes and sediment-filled valleys. In the southwestern part of the state, a Pleistocene sinkhole, the Mammoth Site, is rich in Quaternary fossils.

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