Wilson Butte Cave is located on the Snake River plain in Jerome County northeast of Twin Falls and southeast of Shoshone, Idaho. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archeological site, it is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
A round bubble in appearance, it pops up from a flat wide bed of ancient basalt lava. An inflationary or uplift cave is inside the bubble. While archeologists are uncertain of exact dates prior to 10,000 years ago, evidence has been found that native peoples lived at Wilson Butte Cave at least 10,000 years ago. Artifacts found here provide the oldest evidence of human presence on the Snake River Plain and are among the oldest such evidence in all of North America.[2][3] Archeologists are fairly certain that the reason the cave was settled so early is that it was used as a base from which to hunt bison.[2] Strong connections have been found to the Fremont culture and the Shoshone people, who lived there after the Fremont peoples.[4] Vegetation in the region was very similar to modern times. Camels and giant ground sloths once roamed this region.[5] Deposits here are believed to have been undisturbed until amateurs discovered them in 1958. Two of the major excavations of the cave were conducted by teams led by Ruth Gruhn; one in 1959–1960 and one in 1988–1989. Gruhn dates the site's earliest occupation to 14,000–15,000 years ago.[6]
The lava of the area is a dark gray to black fine-grained basalt. The cave is a lava tube developed in a pressure ridge in the flowing lava. The source of the lava is Wilson's Butte, which is about one half mile southeast of the cave. The lava is more than 15,000 years old, as determined by radiocarbon dating of a camel bone from within a lava tube cave. The bone had tool markings indicating working by humans.[7]
^"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ab"Wilson Butte Cave". Welcome. Bureau of Land Management. March 25, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
^"Wilson Butte Cave". Occupation. Bureau of Land Management. November 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^"Wilson Butte Cave". Who Lived There?. Bureau of Land Management. November 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^"Wilson Butte Cave". How Was Southern Idaho Different 10,000 Years Ago?. Bureau of Land Management. November 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^"Wilson Butte Cave". History of Wilson Butte Cave Excavations. Bureau of Land Management. November 4, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^Matthews, S. H.; Shervais, J. W.; Kaufmann, J. D.; Othberg, K. L. (2006). "Geologic Map of the Star Lake Quadrangle, Jerome and Lincoln Counties, Idaho" (PDF). Digital Web Map DWM-67. Idaho Geological Survey. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
WilsonButteCave is located on the Snake River plain in Jerome County northeast of Twin Falls and southeast of Shoshone, Idaho. Listed on the National...
present in the Idaho area as long as 14,500 years ago. Excavations at WilsonButteCave near Twin Falls in 1959 revealed evidence of human activity, including...
evidence of humans in North America. Earlier excavations in 1959 at WilsonButteCave near Twin Falls revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads...
11(2):38-42. A Technological Description of Artifacts in Assemblage I, WilsonButteCave, Idaho. 1969. Current Anthropology (10)4:366-367. Unusual Milling...
bone fragments about 10,000 years old have been found in WilsonButteCave, an inflationary cave on the Snake River Plain believed to have been occupied...
including Lava Butte, Lava River Cave, and Newberry Crater. In May 1967 the U.S. Forest Service created the 8,983 acres (3,635 ha) Lava Butte Geological Area...
Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) is a North American archaeological site previously known as Sunset Guano Cave, Horseshoe Cave, and Loud Site 18. The cave is about...
Monument Spider Rock Capitol Butte Cathedral Rock, Red Rock State Park, Sedona Cathedral Rock (Coconino County, Arizona) Chaistla Butte Chiricahua National Monument...
The Belum Caves, located in Nandyala district of Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema region, is the second largest cave system on the Indian subcontinent, known...
Volcanic Monument consists of four primary visitor destinations: Lava Butte, Lava River Cave, Lava Cast Forest, and Newberry Caldera. The highest point within...
Mammoth Cave National Park is a national park in south-central Kentucky, US. It encompasses portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest known cave system in...
Shanidar Cave (Kurdish: ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر, romanized: Eşkewtî Şaneder, Arabic: كَهَف شانِدَر) is an archaeological site on Bradost Mountain, within the...
lah-SKOH; French: Grotte de Lascaux [ɡʁɔt də lasko], "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne...
Verteba Cave (Ukrainian: Печера Вертеба, romanized: Pechera Verteba) is a karstic cave near the village of Bilche-Zolote, Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast...
The Petralona Cave (Greek: Σπήλαιο Πετραλώνων) a karst formation, is located at 300 m (984 ft) above sea-level on the western foot of Mount Katsika, about...
buy Bear Butte land for $1.1M". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2021. Holland, Jim (November 22, 2018). "1,020 acres near Bear Butte sells to tribes...
The Cosquer Cave is located in the Calanque de Morgiou in Marseille, France, near Cap Morgiou. The entrance to the cave is located 37 m (121 ft) underwater...
Union High School District #22 Willcox Unified School District #13 Chevelon Butte School District #5 Coconino Association for Vocations, Industry and Technology...
The Cave of Altamira (/ˌæltəˈmɪərə/ AL-tə-MEER-ə; Spanish: Cueva de Altamira [ˈkweβa ðe altaˈmiɾa]) is a cave complex, located near the historic town...
The Edakkal caves are two natural caves at a remote location at Edakkal, 25 km (15.5 mi) from Kalpetta in the Wayanad district of Kerala in India. They...
States. The 4,554-acre (1,843 ha) park, including the marble cave, is 20 miles (32 km) east of Cave Junction, on Oregon Route 46. The protected area, managed...
Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave (French: Grotte Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, French pronunciation: [ɡʁɔt ʃovɛ pɔ̃ daʁk]) in the Ardèche department of southeastern France is a cave that...
The Cave of Swimmers is a cave with ancient rock art in the mountainous Gilf Kebir plateau of the Libyan Desert section of the Sahara. It is located in...