The site was recorded during the early 1970s as part of a comprehensive survey of the national park.

[2]: 135  One of several sites in the Big Meadows complex, Cliff Kill lies at the meadow's eastern side, immediately east of a 10-meter cliff; boulders mark the northern edge,[2]: 112  and the headwaters of a small stream form the boundaries to the east and south.

[2]: 114 Given the paucity of artifacts, the appearance of flakes that had been reused for some purpose, and the total absence of evidence for on-site lithic reduction, the surveyors concluded that the site was periodically used as a specialty hunting camp, not as a base camp where daily tasks (such as repairing stone tools) would have been undertaken; if the site indeed were used as a buffalo jump, the animals would have been butchered at the cliff's base and the meat removed for consumption elsewhere.

[2]: 115  This supposition prompted the surveyors to choose the name "Cliff Kill" for the site.

[2]: 51 In 1985, Cliff Kill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its archaeological value.