Bear Spirit Mountain 15,000 Years Ago... Imagine!
We know the landscape and environment differed significantly from today. It was the end of the last glacial period, and the climate was much colder. It must have resembled conditions in central Alaska.
Even though glaciers did not cover West Virginia, Permafrost (ground that remains frozen for two or more years) likely covered much of the state. At high elevations, there was a lack of trees and low-growing vegetation.
Paleo-Indians were the first people to inhabit West Virginia. These nomadic gatherers used a variety of stone, bone, and wood tools to hunt.
Wildlife of that day, now extinct, included Woolly Mammoths, Mastodons, giant Ground Sloths (including the Jefferson’s ground sloth), Dire Wolves, Saber Tooth Tigers, American Cheetahs, Hagerman Horse, Short-faced Bears, giant Bison, and many more amazing creatures that roamed West Virginia!
