• Cañon City area ---Dinosaur Depot-- features exhibits that explore the very rich fossil heritage of the area. Several field sites (Skyline Trackway site and the Garden Park Fossil Area - BLM are worth visiting along with the displays at the museum about dinosaurs, geology and paleontology of the Cañon City region.
  • Skyline Drive Trackway Site. In December 1999 a Cañon City resident studying paleontology at the University of Denver brought to our attention the presence of dinosaur tracks on Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive travels along the top of the Dakota Formation hogback just to the west of Cañon City. Volunteers from the Dinosaur Depot developed the site during 2000 and 2001. One of the tracks can be seen on exhibit in the Dinosaur Depot. A guide brochure for the Skyline Drive Trackway Site is available in the Dinosaur Gift Shop.
  • A Short History of Dinosaur Collecting Garden Park Fossil Area --Cañon City, Colorado. Following the discovery of dinosaur bones in the early 1870’s, the Garden Park Fossil Area near Cañon City, Colorado, became important for the discovery of Late Jurassic dinosaurs. Note: You can visit this area (A BLM site) in field north of town, it has interpretive trails and you can view the original quarry site done for O.C. Marsh for example and see great exposures of the Morrison Formation.
    • Chronological list of excavators:
    • Oramel and Ira Lucas for Edward Drinker Cope of Philadelphia (1877-1883),
    • Benjamin Mudge, Samuel Williston and Marshall P. Felch for Othniel Charles Marsh of Yale University (1877) and Felch (1882-1888),
    • John Hatcher and William Utterback for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh (1900-1901),
    • Dall DeWeese (1915) and Frederick C. Kessler (1937) for the Colorado Museum of Natural History (now DMNS*),
    • Edwin Delfs for Cleveland Museum of Natural History (1954, 1955, 1957),
    • K. Don Lindsey for Denver Museum of Natural History (now DMNS*) (1979),
    • Kenneth Carpenter for the Denver Museum of Natural History (Now the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.) (1991-1996),
    • Donna Engard for the Dinosaur Depot Museum (1995-present)
  • The Dinosaurs of Garden Park The Garden Park Fossil Area has produced some of the finest late Jurassic dinosaur specimens known. This section deals with the species of dinosaurs that have been found in the Fossil Area.

• Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is one of the world's foremost dinosaur fossil sources. More than 30 complete skeletons, 12,000 individual bones and several dinosaur eggs have come from this prolific fossil bed. Today, at the Visitor Center you can see a complete Allosaur skeletal reconstruction and a Stegosaur wall mount. At the quarry you view the work in progress in a covered building, where you can see actual bones in place. Recognized worldwide as the primary source of flesh-eating Allosaur skeletons, the quarry was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966.
• Dinosaurs of Colorado - Part of the Morrison Natural History Museum's web site the Guide to the Dinosaurs of Clorado contains a separate information page on each genus of dinosaur that has been found within the State of Colorado, as well as some dinosaurs whose occurrence here has been inferred from indirect evidence. Some of the interesting pages found on this site include:
  • Information on a particular dinosaur may be accessed by its scientific name in the "Alphabetical List of Dinosaurs" or by its taxonomic classification in the "Taxonomy of the Dinosauria".
  • Information is also provided about cladistics and the cladistic approach to taxonomy used in these pages.
  • A separate section, "Dinosaur Extinction," looks at the disappearance of the dinosaurs, and evaluates various theories which have been proposed to explain their demise.
• Dinosaur Diamond An all-in-one stop that makes it easy to locate sites on the Colorado Plateau including parks, museums, and monuments related to dinosaurs. Check it out. The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway (Dinosaur Diamond) is and Route located in eastern Utah and western Colorado. Three-quarters of the 512-mile loop are within Utah. The segment within Colorado was designated the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic and Historic Byway by the Colorado Transportation Commission on October 27, 1997. The segment within Utah was designated the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway by the Utah State Legislature in 1998.The Dinosaur Diamond embraces an enormous geographic area and travels through several communities. In Utah the Dinosaur Diamond travels through Vernal, Roosevelt, Duchesne, Price, and Green River. In Colorado the Dinosaur Diamond travels through the City of Grand Junction and the communities of Fruita, Rangely, and Dinosaur. The Dinosaur Diamond's physical and thematic area of influence is yet larger, and includes the Utah communities of Castle Dale, Moab, Monticello, and Blanding as well as the Colorado community of Delta. The Dinosaur Diamond intersects with U.S. Interstate 70 near Green River Utah and Grand Junction Colorado.
• Dinosaur Dreaming - MONASH UNIVERSITY Dinosaur/VP PALEO SITE. The Monash University has a on-line paleo site where you can learn about its 'Dinosaur Dreaming' expeditions. Dinosaur Dreaming is part of a successful project between Museum Victoria and Monash University, the Dinosaur Dreaming fossil excavations at Inverloch over the last 12 years have yielded not only fascinating insights to the life and times of Australia’s Dinosaurs, but also highly significant and intriguing fossil mammals. Inverloch: Home of Dinosaur Dreaming is the Victorian coastal town near which the Dinosaur Dreaming site is located. About 145 kilometres (ninety minutes drive) from Melbourne, Inverloch is a very civilised place from which to do field research.The site is a rocky shore platform called Flat Rocks, about five minutes' drive from the township on a stretch of coast favoured by surfers and fishing enthusiasts. This is where the Cretaceous mammal, Ausktribosphenos nyktos, was found in March 1997.
• Dinosaur Journey - Museum of Western Colorado Welcome to the Museum of Western Colorado's Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita, Colorado, right in the heart of dinosaur country. Our museum features the latest exhibits and information about dinosaurs of western Colorado, eastern Utah and surrounding areas, realistic robotic dinosaurs and a working paleontology laboratory.We want your visit (both at the museum and here at our web site) to be not only educational, but fun as well. Just click on any of the links above to learn more about our history, our museums and expeditions - and when you're planning your next vacation, come to Dinosaur Journey - it's where your best dino-friends are! Our hands-on, interactive museum is the perfect place to learn about our favorite subject - dinosaurs! We have robotic displays of Dilophosaurus, Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Utahraptor, T-Rex and many other displays including real bones plus cast skeletons of Camarasaurus, Camptosaurus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, Velociraptor, Othneilia and the rare Mymoorapelta.Get your hands on real dinosaur bones! Learn about the great diversity of dinosaurs including the largest and smallest that have been found right here in western Colorado.
  • Maps to Dinosaur Journey.
  • News.
  • Join the Museum
  • Hours and Fees:
    • Hours
      Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
      Sunday Noon to 4 p.m.
      Admission: $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for children, and immediate family groups, $20. Free to members. Combination tickets for Cross Orchards, the Museum of Western Colorado and Dinosaur Journey: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for children
• Dinosaur Farm Museum - set up in 1992 on the site of the biggest dinosaur find on the Isle of Wight, the Barnes High Sauropod.
  • Isle of Wight Dinosaurs. The Isle of Wight is the best place in Europe for discovering dinosaur remains. There are over 15 types known, with a new species being discovered on average every three years. In 2001 the latest dinosaur to be named officially from the Isle of Wight was Eotyrannus, (the oldest ancestor of Tyrannosaurs).All their dinosaurs are from the earliest part of the Cretaceous period (145 - 65 million years ago). The oldest dinosaur bones are 132 million years old and the youngest 110 million years old. 120 million years ago the Isle of Wight was joined to England, which was itself joined to Europe. Dinosaurs could walk from Cornwall (in the west) through the Island and onto Belgium and France (east). The area was located at the same latitude North Africa is today. The climate was hot and dry during the summer; and hot and wet, during the winter. During the wet season the floodplain running from Cornwall to Belgium swelled with water, and the parched land filled with meandering rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. The area was teeming with life; from fish, freshwater mussels and insects to crocodiles, lizards and turtles.
    • Barnes High Sauropod
    • Baryonyx
    • Calamosaurus
    • Eotyrannus
    • Hypsilophodon
    • Iguanodon
    • Neovenator
    • Polacanthus
    • Thecocoelurus
    • Valdosaurus
• Dinosaur National Monument. Official page of National Park Service. Has more information about the monument, and its services. Dinosaur National Monument is a diamond in the desert. The diversity of this diamond in the desert is so striking, so surprising to the unprepared, that they are often disappointed they have not allowed more time to experience Dinosaur. A week is not too much time to allow to experience the sparkle of this diamond. The park was created in 1915 for the unmatched deposit of Jurassic dinosaur bones. The unique natural exhibit of over 1600 dinosaur bones, in their final resting place, were deposited in an ancient river bed turned to stone. Today remnants of that deposit form one wall of the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center. There are lots of links here, including a virtual tour of the museum where you can see the specimens on the wall and in the collections of the museum at the center and see what types of fossils are found (including the dinosaurs of course).
  • The Douglass Quarry--History of Earl's Excavation...and the Geology of the Quarry. Dinosaur National Monument protects a large deposit of fossil dinosaur bones--remains of the so-called "terrible lizards" that lived millions of years ago. The dinosaurs weren't really lizards, and most of them weren't even terrible. But some of the first dinosaur fossils ever found were huge bones and teeth, very lizard-like except for their size, and so the idea of monstrous lizards was born. Today, many ideas about dinosaurs are changing, and the fossils at Dinosaur National Monument continue to help us learn more about these fascinating animals.The fossils that give the monument its name were discovered in 1909 by Earl Douglass. He was a paleontologist (a scientist who studies prehistoric life) who worked for the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Douglass knew that some of the rocks in northeastern Utah were the same kind that had produced dinosaur skeletons elsewhere, so he went there hoping to find more bones for the museum. In fact, he found thousands of them, and spent many years digging them up and shipping them to Pittsburgh, where many skeletons are now on display. President Woodrow Wilson heard about the great dinosaur quarry that Douglass had started, and proclaimed the site as Dinosaur National Monument in 1915. Years later, the National Park Service began to develop the quarry as it is today. The rock layer containing the fossil bones forms one wall of the Quarry Visitor Center. On this wall, paleontologists have carefully chiped away the rock to uncover the bones and leave them in place. More than 1500 fossil bones can now be seen in this unusual exhibit.
  • Dinosaur! Virtual Museum Tour This multi-media exhibit gives you an intimate look at the remarkable fossils of Dinosaur National Monument.
    • Look at the fossil specimens exposed on the cliff face of the Douglass Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument.
    • Join a paleontologist; from finding a specimen in the field; to transport by helicopter back to the lab; and preparation for study and exhibit by clicking on the multimedia button.
    • Enter an artist's conception and experience what Dinosaur National Monument looked like nearly 150 million years ago.
    • Use the detailed charts to better understand these amazing creatures.
    • Click on the Douglass Quarry, classification, adaptation, and environment themes to see specimens that illuminate these topics; and on stratigraphy and geologic time to learn more.
• Dinosaur Provincial Park In Alberta, Canada. The source of many of the fossil specimens in the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Much field research on dinosaurs is done there, and some areas are open for the public to explore and hike through. From your first view into the Badlands, you know that Dinosaur Provincial Park truly is not only one of Alberta's special places, but one also shared with the world. The park was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 by the United Nations in recognition of three significant features:
  • the badlands, a terrain unique unto itself
  • the endangered riparian (riverside) habitat with its towering plains cottonwoods
  • as well as one of the highest concentrations of paleontological resources with the fossils of the late Cretaceous period.
• Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. Dinosaur Ridge is a geologically famous National Natural Landmark, located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, near Morrison, Colorado and is only 15 miles west of downtown Denver. This location features historically famous Jurassic dinosaur bones, such as Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus, discovered in 1877, and Cretaceous dinosaur footprints, attributed to ornithopod and theropod dinosaurs.
• Jurassic Coast. From baking deserts to tropical seas, an ancient fossil forest and dinosaur infested swamps; the Dorset and East Devon coast (southern UK) provides a fascinating glimpse into the ancient past including the entire Jurassic period. From Orcombe Rocks, Exmouth, Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site gives a unique insight into life in the past through the rocks exposed along the 95 miles of beautiful coastline. 185 million years of Earth History for you to explore. Walk along the coast and walk through time!
• Mill Canyon/Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracks. The Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail is a bold experiment; there are no guards or fences here. You, the visitor, are the protector of this valuable resource. It is illegal to remove, deface, or destroy improvements, rocks, and fossils.
• Pantagonia, Argentina
  • Ernesto Bachmann Municipal Museum. El Chocón Pantagonia. The Municipal Museum was opened on 18th. November, 1995 with the aim of providing a place to show the found and the will be found fossil material .This museum created by law and aims to preserve, investigate, show and spread the most varied manifestations of men and nature. The building of the Municipal Museum was opened on 19th.July, 1997 and was built with money funds given by H.E.C.S.A., with a project of the Provincial Government and directed by the Town Counsil. The Municipal Museum has been called Ernesto Bachmann since 16th. March,1999. He was born in Switzerland on 1st. January,1894 and died in Plottier on 19th. March, 1970. He was a self-taught investigator that made important discoveries in the anthropology and paleontology fields in the area of El Chocón. He was also guide and tutor of many international and national investigators.
  • Cretaceous Valley. In Villa El Chocón you can visit the famous Cretaceous Valley, that possesses a considerable amount of paleontological remains that are worth seeing. This is a protected area created by provincial law for the conservation of the precious resources found in the area. In these rich strata, paleontological rests of dinosaurs dating from 100 million years ago from the Cretaceous period have been found.
  • El Chocón and Picún Leufú Dinosaur Footprint site In the surroundings of Chocón and Picún Leufú, abundant prints of a great variety of dinosaurs are found. They are invery good condition and make the area a interesting area to visit.To get to the area of footprints, you will have to drive 3 kilometers along Nº 237 National Route departing from the entrance to the dam and going to Piedra del Aguila. You will find to your left, next to Llanquén Neighbourhood an entrance that will take you to a road with footbridges that will let you observe these traces of past.
  • Plaza Huincul - Carmen Funes Museum . For the province of Neuquén, Paleontology has become a cultural and scientific top theme, and a point of interest for tourists coming to the area. Carmen Funes Museum is a small institution directed by the Paleontologist Rodolfo Coria who works with a group of qualified technicians in charge of keeping the rooms updated and also carrying out a permanent field research work. The Museum is in the access to Plaza Huincul, in the intersection of National Route 22 and Provincial Route 17. The discovery of dinosaurs through films by the lay public has increased the interest in this topic, and Patagonia is a region rich in fossils not completely discovered yet. In the Carmen Funes Museum there is an exhibition with reconstructions, dioramas, videos, tapes and fossils that show the variety of dinosaurs in this territory, its systematic, biogeographic and paleoenvironmental importance.
• The Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Thermopolis, Wyoming. Site contains information about this new museum (1995) and major dig site in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming. Educational activities, newsletters, and all kinds of information about Wyoming dinosaurs is online at this site.
  • Active Digsites are present in the area including:
    • Over 60 identified dinosaur digsites in a 500-acre area
    • Main sites easily accessible by private van
  • Programs and Activities
    • Digsite tours
    • Dig-for-a-day programs
    • Kids' digs
• Triceratops Trail at Parfet Prehistoric Preserve. Now open, trail work is completed, split-rail fencing has been installed, and netting has been put up, the area is open for self-guided visitation 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset. The site features a 1/2 mile hiking trail, which leads you on a walk through 68 million years of Colorado's pre-history. Along the Triceratops Trail, you will see footprints and other impressions left by dinosaurs, birds, mammals, plants and even insects! In addition, you will also see how the landscape of this area has changed from a swampy habitat during the Age of Dinosaurs to a clay mine during the mid 1900's to a world-class golf course today. T Caneer, Friends of Dinosaur Ridge tour guide and advocate for the preservation of the tracks in Golden, says “The [Parfet Prehistoric Preserve] site is an amazing find as it, in combination with Dinosaur Ridge to the south, gives a nearly complete picture for the Age of the Dinosaurs. At Dinosaur Ridge, tracks and bones are represented from about 150 to 95 million years ago. Here in Golden, the tracks and other finds represent the end of the Age of Dinosaurs approx. 68 million-years-ago.”

Last Updated: 7/17/06 RJJ