The oldest shoes in the world were found in Oregon.

Science & Industry

H uman beings first arrived in the Americas more than 20,000 years ago, long after the earliest dated cave paintings, musical instruments, and sewing needles. North America is, however, home to the oldest known pair of shoes, unearthed in central Oregon in the 1930s and dating back more than 10,000 years. But don't worry, this doesn't mean the earliest Americans made the chilly journey across the Bering Strait barefoot — these sandals are just the earliest surviving shoes that we know about.

Researchers found the footwear in Fort Rock Cave, located in the northern Great Basin area, preserved in ash from the eruption of Mount Mazama roughly 7,700 years ago. Around 100 pairs were present, including some in kids' sizes, and most were well worn; some were caked with mud, and one had even been singed by sparks from a fire.

Like other sandals found around the Great Basin area, the Fort Rock shoes were made from sagebrush and covered the toes. But they had a distinct weaving style, with just five thick warps along the sole that were split into smaller cords for a thinner toe flap. They were secured to the feet with cords that tied around the ankle. This style faded out around 9,300 years ago, when it was replaced by different weaving styles that were still being used thousands of years later by Kamath and Modoc tribes, who are Indigenous to the area.

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By the Numbers

Age (in years) of charcoal from a Fort Rock Cave fire pit

15,800

Likely height (in feet) of Mount Mazama before eruption

12,000

Did you know?

Crater Lake is in a collapsed volcano.

Preserving a large shoe collection was one of Mount Mazama's lesser impacts. When the volcano erupted 7,700 years ago — one of the largest eruptions on Earth in the last 12,000 years — its magma chamber emptied and the volcano collapsed. It left a giant caldera, or volcanic crater, in its place — similar to how Yellowstone National Park was created. Smaller eruptions continued for the next 750 years, but over time, the caldera filled with water and became Crater Lake, now a national park in Oregon, which eventually became deep enough to hide any volcanic activity.