The Ashfall Fossil Beds are important and rare collection of preservation sites known as lagerstatten. The lagerstatten is known to preserve ecological snapshots of different preserved fossilized organisms undisturbed. The Ashfall Fossil Beds are famous for the fossils of mammals known to have been from the Miocene geologic epoch.

Founded in 1991 and under the care and management of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, it is located in an elevation of about 1720 ft. The first trace that the area is rich with fossils was when a skull of a young rhinoceros was found in an edge of the cornfield. As the site develops, new uncovered fossils are left exactly as how they were discovered. Those who are managing the area constructed walkways so that visitors can get a good view of the scientists and paleontologists working with the fossils during the summer season. Moreover the site was listed as a National Natural Landmark on May 9, 2006.