Dinosaur footprints
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Dinosaur footprints
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 A fossilized footprint in the sanctuary |
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| location | Massachusetts , United States | |
| surface | 3.2 ha | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 14 ' N , 72 ° 37' W | |
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| Setup date | 1935 | |
| administration | The Trustees of Reservations | |
Dinosaur Footprints ( German dinosaur footprints ) is an 8 acres (3.2 ha ) nature reserve near the city of Holyoke in the state of Massachusetts in the United States and is administered by the organization The Trustees of Reservations .
history
Edward Hitchcock , a geologist born in 1793 and later President of Amherst College, was one of the founders of Ichnology , which is a branch of paleontology that deals with fossil footprints and tracks. Hitchcock spent much of his research in the Pioneer Valley , which is now the reserve, and discovered a wide variety of fossilized footprints. Millions of years ago there was a large lake there, and the individual layers of sediment and the sandstone bed of the lake offer great opportunities for the discovery of fossilized traces.
The trustees were able to acquire the area of the protected area in 1935.
Protected area
There are more than 130 different tracks preserved in the sandstone on the grounds of the protected area. They are assigned to groups of two-legged, carnivorous dinosaurs , believed to be up to 15 ft (4.6 m ) tall or 20 ft (6.1 m) long and ancestors of the Tyrannosaurus . Petrified footprints can be found along the entire Connecticut River Valley , where a subtropical swamp was located about 190 million years ago.
In addition to the first scientifically described traces, a large number of other fossils can also be seen in the reserve, which come not only from two-legged dinosaurs, but also from stromatolites , fish and plants. The reserve is open daily from April 1st to November 30th.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Property History. The Trustees of Reservations , accessed December 17, 2013 .
- ↑ About Dinosaur Footprints. The Trustees of Reservations , accessed December 17, 2013 .