At 9000' -- mastodons

[madamesilverspurs]

This is amazing - mammoths, mastodons, giant sloth, giant bison... And we thought Aspen was just for skiing!

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=162139&catid=188

[Angry Dragon]

1. Very nice

[Warpy]

2. Don't forget that it wasn't always 9000 feet up

The whole west has been rising steadily for a very long time. The Grand Canyon wasn't cut by a river, the river is always where it was. The land just rose up under it. My own part of NM is a mile up but was once under water, as local fossil hunting in the mountains to the east will show.

Those mastodons were probably grazing on gentle hillsides on a reasonably flat plain millions of years ago.

[Xithras]

4. Nope. The fossils are recent.

10k-30k years ago.

While both mammoth and mastodon are usually presented as plains animals, there have been fossils recovered from both species in nearly every environment where there was food available. Neither species avoided mountains.

[Bucky]

3. This is proof of intelligent design.

Why else would God put fake mastadon fossils right there in a ski lodge? This is God telling me to make a million bucks and go skiing... and probably God's way of telling me to vote Republican.

[sufrommich]

5. More likely God was just making sure Fred and Barney could

get their order of ribs at their favorite Drive In. God works in mysterious ways, don'tcha know.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. better article with lots more info..

http://www.realaspen.com/article/282/Scientists-uncover-an-Ice-Age-ecosystem-in-Snowmass