Dinosaur Footprints

A few years ago Anna Lee cut out an article on a new dinosaur discovery in this area.  Jerry called BLM, and they were able to tell us just the site we were seeking, so we took our grandson to see where dinosaurs had once lived.

Paleontologists from CU, Denver, discovered distinct tracks of 112 million-year-old dinosaurs. The tracks reveal the shape of the dinos' feet including the sharp claws that some of them had. This is one of the largest sites of its kind known to exist. Several species found here were thought to exist only in Asia so this area has the scientists very excited.  We were excited too to see these prints and also a footprint from an ancient crocodile and the marks left by its swishing tail.

The dinos left their footprints on a thin layer of soft, plant material with mud below.  A layer of earth covered the track field and, over millions of years, thicker and thicker layers built up.  Fairly recently rains exposed the field and its presence was made known to the BLM who developed the site for public viewing. Thanks, Government.