Obsidian Cliff, Volcanic glass cliff in Yellowstone National Park, US.
Obsidian Cliff is a steep wall of black volcanic glass in Yellowstone National Park. The rock formed from rapid cooling of silica-rich lava and now stands as a prominent dark formation visible from the Grand Loop Road.
Native people extracted obsidian from this location for thousands of years to make tools and weapons. The material traveled along trade routes that connected communities across North America and revealed long-standing connections between distant groups.
The site holds spiritual significance for numerous Native American tribes who maintained oral histories about collecting materials from this sacred location.
The site sits along the Grand Loop Road between Mammoth and Norris with marked pull-offs for viewing and parking. Information signs explain the geology and what you are looking at from the roadside.
A major forest fire in the 1980s cleared part of the plateau and allowed archaeologists to map ancient quarrying sites with new detail. This unexpected aftermath of the fire revealed thousands of years of human activity that had been hidden under forest cover.
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