Dinosaur Valley State Park
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Dinosaur Valley State Park
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| location | Somervell County in Texas (USA) | |
| surface | 7.38 km² | |
| Geographical location | 32 ° 15 ′ N , 97 ° 49 ′ W | |
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| Setup date | 1972, since 1986 National Natural Landmark | |
| administration | Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. | |
The Dinosaur Valley State Park is a State Park west of Glen Rose in Somervell County in Texas (USA). In the park, fossilized footprints of dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous period are preserved in the sedimentary rock in the river bed of the Paluxy River . They were discovered in 1930 by the paleontologist Roland T. Bird . The best observation opportunities are in late summer because the water level is at this time of the yearis relatively low and the prints are partially dry. The grounds for the park were purchased in 1968 and in 1972 Dinosaur Valley State Park was opened with an area of 738 hectares. In 1968 the site was also registered as a National Natural Landmark .
According to the most widely held belief, the tracks were created 113 million years ago on a vast tidal plain or lagoon at the edge of a shallow ocean. The Paluxy River eroded the rock, exposing the fossil traces of the dinosaurs in the limestone and sandstone layers. There are three-toed footprints there with sharp-clawed prints made by theropods , bipedal (two-legged) carnivorous dinosaurs. They are attributed to the Acrocanthosaurus , which is over 11 meters long and whose fossil skeletal remains were found nearby. Significantly larger, rounded tracks come from four-legged herbivorous sauropods . Its most likely culprit is Pleurocoelus , the state dinosaur of Texas . Up to 12 tracks run in parallel, which allows conclusions to be drawn about a social way of life in herds.
Two life-size models of dinosaurs made of fiberglass are on display in the park in the open air, a Tyrannosaurus and a Brontosaurus . Both copies were originally made for the 1964 New York World's Fair Dinosaur Exhibit.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/States/Texas/NNL/DV/index.cfm
- ↑ http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/paluxy/dvsp.html
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/dinosaur_valley/
Web links
- Field list for bird watching (English, PDF; 76 kB)