Thomas Jefferson, after seeing mastodon bones from Kentucky, believed the animals might still be living in the interior of the continent and asked Lewis and Clark to search for them.
Sources
- The Ten Most Disturbing Scientific Discoveries (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/geology/paleontology/mastodons/ (lewis-clark.org)
- https://home.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/mastodon-teeth.htm (home.nps.gov)
- https://boundarystones.weta.org/2024/06/06/paleontologist-chief-thomas-jeffersons-quest-mastodon (boundarystones.weta.org)
- https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/573995/thomas-jefferson-mastodon-obsession-fueled-lewis-and-clark-expedition (mentalfloss.com)
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/thomas-jefferson-built-this-country-on-mastodons (atlasobscura.com)
More in History
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- In 1967, a mission installed a monitoring device near the summit of Nanda Kot, a 22,000-foot peak nine miles southeast of Nanda Devi.