| Dinosaur Provincial Park | |
|---|---|
Chasmosaurus belli, which was found in the Park, on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
| |
| Location | County of Newell / Special Area No. 2, near Brooks Alberta |
| Coordinates | 50°45′42″N 111°29′06″WCoordinates: 50°45′42″N 111°29′06″W |
| Area | 73.29 square kilometres (28.30 sq mi) |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Governing body | Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation |
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
| |
| Provincial Park of Alberta | 1955 |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, viii |
| Designated | 1979 (3rd session) |
| Reference no. | 71 |
| Country | Canada |
| Region | Europe and North America |
 
Location of Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta
| |
The park is situated in the valley of the Red Deer River, which is noted for its striking badland topography. The park is well known for being one of the richest dinosaur fossil locales in the world. Fifty-eight dinosaur species have been discovered at the park and more than 500 specimens have been removed and exhibited in museums around the globe. The renowned fossil assemblage of nearly 500 species of life, from microscopic fern spores to large carnivorous dinosaurs, justified its becoming a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Dinosaur Provincial Park Visitor Centre
The
Dinosaur Provincial Park Visitor Centre features exhibits about
dinosaurs, fossils, and the geology and natural history of the park.
There is a video theatre, fossil prep lab area, and a gift shop. Public
programs are offered in the summer.
John Ware's Cabin is a restored early 20th century cabin that was used by John Ware, an African-American cowboy
and important figure in Alberta's ranching history. The cabin is
located near the visitor centre and is open on select days in the
summer.
History
Established
on June 27, 1955 as part of Alberta's 50th Jubilee Year with the goal
of protecting the fossil beds, the first warden was Roy Fowler
(1902-1975), a farmer and amateur fossil hunter.
The park was established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on October 26, 1979 both for its nationally significant badlands and riverside riparian habitats, and for the international importance of the fossils found there.
Until 1985, discoveries made in the park had to be shipped to
museums throughout the world for scientific analysis and display,
including the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto in Ontario, the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa in Ontario, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, New York State. This changed with the opening of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology 100 kilometres upstream in Midland Provincial Park adjacent to Drumheller.
Nature
Hoodoos at Dinosaur Provincial Park
The park protects a very complex ecosystem including three communities: prairie grasslands, badlands, and riverside cottonwoods. Its ecosystem is surrounded by prairies but is unique unto itself. Choruses of coyotes are common at dusk, as are the calls of nighthawks. Cottontail rabbits, mule deer, and pronghorn can all be seen in the park; the prairie rattlesnake, bull snake and the red-sided garter snake are present as well. Curlews and Canada geese
are among the 165 bird species that can be seen in the spring and
summer. Some of the most northern species of cactus, including Opuntia (prickly pear) and Pediocactus (pincushion) can be observed in full bloom during the later half of June.
Geology
The sediments exposed in the badlands at Dinosaur Provincial Park were laid down over a period of about 1.5 million years during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch, and belong to three different geologic formations. The top of the terrestrial Oldman Formation, which outcrops at the base of the sequence, is the oldest. It is overlain by a complete section of the terrestrial Dinosaur Park Formation, which is in turn overlain by the base of the marine Bearpaw Formation.
The Dinosaur Park Formation, which contains most of the articulated
dinosaur skeletons, was laid down between about 76.5 and 74.8 million
years ago. It was deposited in floodplain and coastal plain environments by river systems that flowed eastward and southeastward to the Western Interior Seaway.
Paleontology
The badlands near the entrance of the park
Dinosaur Provincial Park preserves an extraordinarily diverse group of freshwater vertebrates. Fish include sharks, rays (such as the durophage Myledaphus), paddlefish, bowfins, gars, and teleosts. Amphibians include frogs, salamanders, and the extinct albanerpetontids. Reptiles include lizards (such as the large monitor Palaeosaniwa), a wide range of turtles, crocodilians, and the fish-eating Champsosaurus.
Mammal fossils from the park are relatively rare and consist of
isolated teeth, fragmentary jaws with teeth, and tooth fragments from
mouse-sized and shrew-sized animals. They include representatives of placental, marsupial, and multituberculate mammals.
Plant fossils from the park and surrounding area include fern fronds; foliage and wood of taxodiaceous and cupressaceous conifers; and leaves of Ginkgo, Cercidiphyllum, Platanus, a Pistia-like aquatic plant, and others. A rich assemblage of fossil pollen and spores has also been described.
The dinosaurs of the park are astonishingly diverse. They include:
- Leptoceratops sp.
- Centrosaurus apertus
- Coronosaurus brinkmani
- Styracosaurus albertensis
- Pachyrhinosaurus
- Chasmosaurus belli, C. russelli
- Vagaceratops irvinensis
- Corythosaurus casuarius
- Gryposaurus notabilis, G. incurvimanus
- Lambeosaurus lambei, L. magnicristatus
- Prosaurolophus maximus
- Parasaurolophus walkeri
- Daspletosaurus torosus
- Gorgosaurus libratus
- Ornithomimus
- Struthiomimus
- new ornithomimid species A
- Chirostenotes pergracilis
- Chirostenotes elegans
- Chirostenotes collinsi
- Dromaeosaurus albertensis
- Saurornitholestes
- Hesperonychus elizabethae
- ?new dromaeosaur species A
- ?new dromaeosaur species B
- Troodon
- new troodontid species A
Classification Uncertain
- Ricardoestesia gilmorei
Birds such as Hesperornithiformes were present, as well as giant Pterosauria related to Quetzalcoatlus. Stagodont marsupials, placentals and multituberculate mammals scurried underfoot.
