One Of The Oddest Geological Wonders Is Located Right Here In Nebraska

Nebraska has a wealth of fossils, including some that are totally unexpected. None have caused more confusion and speculation than the Daemonelix in western Nebraska.

In the early 1890s, a rancher in Sioux County in western Nebraska found a rather perplexing object.

He called Erwin Barbour, head of the Department of Geology at the University of Nebraska. Barbour found a six-foot-tall stone corkscrew that was unlike anything he - or anyone else - had ever seen.

His first idea was that the bizarre structure was the remains of an ancient freshwater sponge. He called it Daemonelix, or "Demon's Corkscrew."

As more and more of the weird structures were unearthed, and as it became clear that other nearby fossils did not come from ancient freshwater organisms, Barbour reevaluated his initial conclusion. His new idea was that the spirals were actually ancient tree roots from an extinct type of tree.

Other geologists studying the odd corkscrews noticed that there were little horizontal chambers at the bottom of the spirals. When the fossilized remains of a rodent were found in one of the chambers, the scientists had to reevaluate their ideas.

The new discovery was perplexing. Did the rodents fall into the corkscrew structures? Scientists also noticed that the corkscrews seemed to be lined with vegetation, a discovery that negated all of the previous theories. It turned out that the weird structures were ancient burrows which had been filled up with silt and sand over 22 million years ago.

It took until 1906 for researchers to come to the conclusion that the corkscrews were actually the burrows of an extinct type of land beaver - but it took until the 1920s for this conclusion to be universally accepted among the scientific community.

They dubbed the "new" type of beaver Palaeocastor, which literally translates to "prehistoric beaver."

More and more burrows were uncovered in Sioux County over the years. Countless other fossils were discovered as well, eventually leading to the establishment of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

(The above preserved Daemonelix is on display at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.) Today, you can learn about Palaeocastors and their weird spiral burrows at the Agate Fossil Beds Monument.

If you want to see a Daemonelix up close, take a trip to the visitors center at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. There are also lots of other fossils and exhibits, as well as walking trails and outdoor learning opportunities. Get more information at the monument's website.

For another totally unique western Nebraska wonder, check out this article on Toadstool Geologic Park.