Vore Buffalo Jump
369 Old Hwy 14, Sundance, WY
Sundance, WY
A grassy sinkhole that holds centuries of bison hunts in its depths, one of the great archaeological treasures of the northern plains.
Vore Buffalo Jump looks at first like nothing more than a grassy sinkhole beside the highway, but it is one of the most important archaeological sites on the northern plains. For roughly three centuries, Native peoples used this natural pit as a buffalo jump, driving herds of bison over its rim so that the trapped animals provided the meat, hides, and materials essential to life.
Layer upon layer of bison bones filled the sinkhole over the generations, preserving a remarkable record of how Plains tribes hunted, and of the bison themselves. Today the site is protected and interpreted, offering a window into a way of life built on deep knowledge of the land and the great herds that once covered it.
What Guests Love
- The story of centuries of communal bison hunts held in one natural trap
- Deep bone beds that make it a nationally important archaeological site
- Learning how Plains tribes used the land with skill and knowledge
- A quiet, uncrowded site with a strong sense of the deep past
Worth Knowing
- The interpretive site is seasonal, generally open in the warmer months; check before visiting
- It is an active archaeological and educational site, so follow staff guidance
- Approach the site with respect for its deep meaning to Native peoples
- It is an easy stop just off Interstate 90 between Sundance and the state line
Details
Sundance, WY
Learn about Vore Buffalo Jump
A natural trap in the plains
The jump is a steep-sided sinkhole formed naturally in the underlying rock, a hidden pit in otherwise open, rolling country. Its steep walls made it an effective trap, and its position along ancient travel and hunting routes made it a place tribes returned to again and again.
Because the animals could not see the drop until it was too late, hunters could guide herds toward the concealed rim and into the pit. The same geology that created the sinkhole also helped preserve what fell into it, sealing the record of centuries beneath layers of soil and bone.
Centuries of the hunt
For roughly three hundred years, from the fifteenth into the eighteenth century, Plains peoples used the Vore site as a communal bison jump. Driving a herd required careful planning, cooperation, and deep understanding of the animals and the land, and the results sustained whole communities.
The bison provided far more than food. Hides became shelter and clothing, bones and sinew became tools and bindings, and nearly every part of the animal was used. The jump reflects a sophisticated hunting culture in which people and the great herds were bound together across generations.
A treasure for archaeology
The layered bone beds within the sinkhole, many feet deep, make Vore Buffalo Jump one of the richest and most significant archaeological sites of its kind on the northern plains. Excavations here have taught researchers a great deal about ancient hunting methods and about the bison of past centuries.
The site was discovered during highway construction in the twentieth century and has since been protected and studied. Because the layers can be read like pages, the jump offers a rare, datable record of the hunts and the changing herds, a scientific treasure as well as a cultural one.
Visiting with respect
The Vore Buffalo Jump is now an interpretive and educational site, generally open in the warmer months, where visitors can learn the story and see the excavations and exhibits. It is run with care for both its science and its meaning to Native peoples.
This is sacred and significant ground to the tribes whose ancestors hunted here, and visitors are asked to treat it with respect. Set near the Black Hills and the town of Sundance, it makes a thoughtful, uncrowded stop that connects travelers to the deep human history of the plains.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Sundance
Sundance
About 12 miles west
The town that gave the Sundance Kid his name, with a county museum and mountain trails nearby.
Devils Tower National Monument
About 45 miles northwest
The country's first national monument, a sacred stone tower rising above the pines.
Black Hills
To the east
The forested island range straddling the Wyoming and South Dakota line, sacred to Plains tribes.