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Photo: NPS Photo, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Beginning around 13,000 years ago, American Indians collected high-quality flint here for weapon and tool-making. Alibates Flint was traded across the continent long before the Europeans made their appearance. The park has over 700 quarry sites. Free tours are available by reservation only at 10AM and 2PM daily.
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. Native Americans of the Ice Age Clovis culture used Alibates flint for spear points to hunt the Columbian mammoth before the Great Lakes were formed. The flint usually lies just below the surface at ridge level in a layer up to 6 ft thick. The quarry pits were not very large, between 5 and 25 ft wide and 4 to 7 ft deep. Many of these quarries were exploited by the Antelope Creek people of the Panhandle culture between 1200 and 1450 AD. The stone-slabbed, multiroom 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 reserved in advance.
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This man-made reservoir provides drinking water for 11 nearby cities and is a popular spot for boating and fishing. The surrounding lands have canyons of up to 200 feet and provide ample opportunities for hiking and observing wildlife.