![]() ![]() Walking in real dinosaur footprints and jumping-or trying to-from one track to another turns a hike in the 1,500-acre park into a scavenger hunt through time. Today, visitors wade in the water, crossing the river’s shallow part, and follow tracks in the exposed stone. ![]() For the first time, scientists could see that sauropods walked on all four legs the tracks provided valuable evidence of the dinosaurs’ habits and activities. He traveled to Glen Rose where he found a large sauropod track and a near-perfect trackway that included many dinosaurs’ footprints, including both sauropods and theropods. Bird was collecting fossils for the American Museum of Natural History when he learned of the theropod tracks. | Photo: Alexandra CharitanĪ 1908 flood first exposed theropod tracks to George Adams, a young boy exploring the Paluxy River. Fossiliferous limestone deposits from crustacean shells formed mud with the perfect consistency to preserve animal tracks. Three-toed tracks nearby show they were followed by theropod predators including the Acrocanthosaurus, a smaller version of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Park rangers explain that the large round ones belonged to sauropods, four-legged and long-necked herbivores who foraged in the coastal vegetation. Walking along the exposed rock of the riverbank in Dinosaur Valley, I can see several different footprints. Ranger-led programs (both virtual and in-person with COVID-19 safety measures) teach visitors how to find and identify dinosaur tracks, in addition to stars and planets, other wildlife, and more. The park boasts some of the most pristine dinosaur footprints in the world, with four major trackway sites featuring collections of two or more consecutive tracks. The park’s land was purchased from private owners in the late 1960s and opened to the public in 1972. The best place to see one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur tracks in Texas is at Dinosaur Valley State Park located just northwest of Glen Rose. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan Entrance sign to Dinosaur Valley State Park. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan The best place to see one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur tracks in Texas is at Dinosaur Valley State Park. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan A three-toed track. | Photo: Alexandra Charitan Visitors can walk in impressions dinosaurs left behind in the bed of the Paluxy River. Today, you can walk in the impressions they left behind in the bed of the Paluxy River. As dinosaurs occasionally crossed the tidal flats, they left behind their tracks in the mud. Carnivorous dinosaurs followed to feed on the plant-eaters. ![]() Herbivorous dinosaurs came to forage on the enormous tropical palms and conifer trees that grew inland from the shore. Fossiliferous limestone deposits from crustacean shells formed mud with the perfect consistency-not too wet or too stiff-to preserve animal tracks.Įons before Native American tribes hunted in these rivers and forests, dinosaurs were king. More than 110 million years ago, the area around Glen Rose, Texas, was at the edge of an ancient sea that once covered much of the Lone Star State. ![]()
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