Explore Outdoors: Why is there mammoth art in this part of the Central Valley?
Updated: 5:47 PM PDT May 27, 2024
Explore Outdoors: Why is there mammoth art in this part of the Central Valley?
Updated: 5:47 PM PDT May 27, 2024
HIGHWAY 99. SO RECENTLY I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY WHEN LITERALLY I WENT, WAIT, WHAT? THIS IS THE STRETCH OF HIGHWAY 99IN MERCED COUNTY WHERE I THOUGHT MY EYES WERE POSSIBLY DECEIVING ME. ARE THOSE ELEPHANTS OVER THE FREEWAY? NOPE. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION, IT WAS EVEN MORE PECULIAR. THESE WERE THE SILHOUETTES OF COLUMBIAN MAMMOTHS, LIFE SIZE ART DISPLAYS NOT JUST ON ONE OVERPASS, BUT TWO ON THE PILANESBERG AND LA GRANDE ROAD. OVERCROSSINGS. BUT WHY TURNS OUT A COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH TUSK SIMILAR LOOKING TO THIS STOCK PHOTO WAS FIRST DISCOVERED IN THIS AREA IN 1993. MORE BONES WERE FOUND HERE BY A CALTRANS CREW IN 2012, SO NOW, THANKS TO CALTRANS AND THE MADERA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, THESE ARTFUL SILHOUETTES OF A CREATURE THAT ONCE STOOD 13FT TALL, WEIGHING SOME TEN TONS, AND DATING BACK TO THE ICE AGE, ARE NOW A VISUAL SIGHT TO BEHOLD FOR THOSE GETTING OUT AND DRIVING HIGHWAY 99, THE COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH ART DISPLAY SOUTH OF MERCED IN MERCED COUNTY, MI
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Explore Outdoors: Why is there mammoth art in this part of the Central Valley?
Updated: 5:47 PM PDT May 27, 2024
A drive along Highway 99 to explore south of Modesto and Turlock could have some drivers wondering if they are traveling back in time to the last Ice Age.That's because the animal silhouettes appearing to cross over the freeway near Merced look like nothing currently roaming the earth.Instead, those are the silhouettes of 10-ton, 13-foot-tall Columbian mammoths that date back more than 100,000 years ago.To see the peculiar site and learn why they began appearing over the freeway this spring, watch the story above.Watch our previous Explore Outdoors location in the video player below. Find the full collection here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
MERCED COUNTY, Calif. —
A drive along Highway 99 to explore south of Modesto and Turlock could have some drivers wondering if they are traveling back in time to the last Ice Age.
That's because the animal silhouettes appearing to cross over the freeway near Merced look like nothing currently roaming the earth.
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Instead, those are the silhouettes of 10-ton, 13-foot-tall Columbian mammoths that date back more than 100,000 years ago.
To see the peculiar site and learn why they began appearing over the freeway this spring, watch the story above.
Watch our previous Explore Outdoors location in the video player below. Find the full collection here.
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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.