Bechan Cave facts for kids

Bechan Cave is a special rock shelter found in Utah, United States. It's like a giant room carved into sandstone rock. The cave is located high up, at about 1,280 metres (4,200 ft) above sea level. It sits along a small creek that flows into the Colorado River.

This amazing cave is about 31 metres (100 ft) wide and 9 metres (30 ft) tall. It stretches back about 52 metres (170 ft) deep. Bechan Cave has one main opening that faces southwest, so it gets lots of sunlight during the day.

Discovering Ancient Life

Bechan Cave holds many secrets from the past. Inside, scientists found layers of dirt and sand that contain clues about ancient animals. These layers are called alluvial deposits because they were washed into the cave by water over thousands of years.

Giant Animals of the Past

The cave is famous for its remains of "Pleistocene megafauna". This is a fancy way of saying "giant ancient animals" that lived during the Ice Age. Scientists found bones, hair, teeth, and even lots of dung (poop!) from creatures like mammoths and ground sloths.

In 1983 and 1984, scientists Larry Agenboard and Jim Mead dug into the cave. They found these animal remains dating back over 11,000 years ago. They also found signs that people lived in the cave much later, from the Archaic period up to the Basketmaker culture, and possibly even Navajo or Paiute people.

What Did They Eat?

Among the most exciting finds were huge pieces of dung. These were as big as the poop from today's African elephants! Inside the dung, scientists could see parts of ancient plants, like grass stems. This tells us what these giant animals ate long ago.

The Cave's Name and Its Treasures

The name "Bechan Cave" comes from a Navajo word that means "big dung" or "big feces." This name makes a lot of sense because of the huge amount of ancient animal dung found inside!

A Layer of Poop History

The well-preserved layer of dung in the cave built up over about 1,000 years. It mostly came from Columbian mammoths, which were huge, hairy elephants. But other animals also left their mark, including shrub-oxen, Shasta ground sloths, and Harrington's mountain goats. You can also find dung from bighorn sheep, cottontail rabbits, and pack rats.

This layer of ancient poop is incredibly thick, ranging from 4 and 16 inches (10–41 cm). It covers a huge area, more than 300 square metres (3,000 sq ft), and has a total volume of 225 cubic metres (8,000 cu ft). This makes it the largest collection of fossilized dung, called coprolites, in North America!

Other Ancient Clues

Besides dung, scientists also found other macrofossils in Bechan Cave. These are large fossils like teeth and a bone from a shrub-ox. These discoveries help us understand what life was like in this area thousands of years ago.

Visiting Bechan Cave

Bechan Cave is located inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It's not a place many people visit, but you can reach it by walking from Bowns Canyon. The hike to the cave and back is about 5-mile (8.0 km) long and is considered moderately difficult. You can get to Bowns Canyon by boat from Lake Powell.