Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Encyclopedia
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is a U.S. National Monument
in the State of Texas
. For thousands of years, people came to the red bluffs above the Canadian River
for flint
, vital to their existence. Demand for the high quality, rainbow-hued flint is reflected in the distribution of Alibates Flint through the Great Plains
and beyond. Indians of the Ice Age Clovis Culture used Alibates flint for spear points to hunt the Imperial Mammoth before the Great Lakes were formed. The flint usually lies just below the surface at ridge level in a layer up to six feet thick. The quarry pits were not very large, between 5 to 25 feet wide and 4 to 7 feet deep. Many of these quarries were exploited by the Antelope Creek
people, of the Panhandle culture
, between 1200 and 1450. The stone-slabbed, multi-room houses built by the Antelope Creek people have long been of interest to the public and studied by archaeologists. Today this area is protected by the U.S. National Park Service
and can only be viewed by ranger-led guided tours, which must be made in advance.
Alibates Flint Quarries is the only National Monument in the state of Texas, and is an integral part of Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
.
The monument was authorized as Alibates Flint Quarries and Texas Panhandle Pueblo Culture National Monument on August 21, 1965, but the designation was shortened to the current name on November 10, 1978.
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
in the State of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. For thousands of years, people came to the red bluffs above the Canadian River
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
for flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, vital to their existence. Demand for the high quality, rainbow-hued flint is reflected in the distribution of Alibates Flint through the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
and beyond. Indians of the Ice Age Clovis Culture used Alibates flint for spear points to hunt the Imperial Mammoth before the Great Lakes were formed. The flint usually lies just below the surface at ridge level in a layer up to six feet thick. The quarry pits were not very large, between 5 to 25 feet wide and 4 to 7 feet deep. Many of these quarries were exploited by the Antelope Creek
Antelope Creek Phase
The Antelope Creek Phase was an American Indian culture in the Texas Panhandle and adjacent Oklahoma dating from 1200 to 1450 AD. The two most important areas where the Antelope Creek people lived were in the Canadian River valley centered on present-day Lake Meredith near the city of Borger,...
people, of the Panhandle culture
Panhandle culture
Panhandle culture is a prehistoric culture of the southern High Plains during the Middle Ceramic Period from AD 1200-1400. Panhandle sites are primarily in the panhandle and west central Oklahoma and the northern half of the Texas Panhandle....
, between 1200 and 1450. The stone-slabbed, multi-room houses built by the Antelope Creek people have long been of interest to the public and studied by archaeologists. Today this area is protected by the U.S. National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and can only be viewed by ranger-led guided tours, which must be made in advance.
Alibates Flint Quarries is the only National Monument in the state of Texas, and is an integral part of Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area located about north of Amarillo, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle. The main attraction of the recreation area is Lake Meredith, an artificial reservoir created by Sanford Dam on the Canadian River.Activities at Lake...
.
The monument was authorized as Alibates Flint Quarries and Texas Panhandle Pueblo Culture National Monument on August 21, 1965, but the designation was shortened to the current name on November 10, 1978.