Rampart Cave Fire in 1976

Rampart Cave discovered in 1936 is located Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The rare cave was inhabited by Nothrotheriops shastensis (Shasta Ground Sloth) 13 kya and 36 kya. Paleontological excavations found deposits of this megafauna species at depths of 6 m (20 ft) deep. A majority consisted of dung deposits that gave the cave the smell of a horse stable. The dry dung was also combustible which tragically occurred in 1976. The cave could be considered a repository or archive of the ecology and the genetic change of N. shastensis over more than 30,000 years.Read less