Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center

The story

Dinosaur Ridge is a segment of the Dakota Hogback in the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark located in Jefferson County, Colorado, near the town of Morrison and just west of Denver. In 1877 Arthur Lakes, a clergyman, teacher, and amateur paleontologist from Golden, CO, and Henry Beckwith, a retired naval officer, discovered the first ever dinosaur material in the Morrison Formation at Dinosaur Ridge. The same year, excavation began under the direction of Yale paleontologist Dr. Othniel Charles Marsh. The first identified Stegosaurus fossils in the world were discovered here, and fossil bones found in the layers of rock here represent some well-known dinosaurs, including Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Allosaurus. In 1973, the area was recognized as an outstanding example of the nation's natural heritage, and was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. The area was expanded in June 2011, and combined with another tracksite in Golden at the Parfet Prehistoric Preserve. These two sites, along with a few other nearby fossil sites in Golden, were combined, and the National Natural Landmark is now known as the Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas. In 1989, the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge non-profit was formed to address concerns regarding the preservation of the site and to offer educational programs on the area's resources. The rocks on the west side of Dinosaur Ridge are part of the widespread Morrison Formation of Jurassic age. It is in these rocks where Arthur Lakes discovered dinosaur bones in 1877. Subsequently, several quarries were excavated along the Dakota hogback in the Morrison area in search of more fossils. Evidence of a variety of dinosaur genera and species was found here, as well as fossils identified to be from prehistoric turtles and lungfish. Research is ongoing. The rocks on the east side of Dinosaur Ridge are part of the Cretaceous Dakota Formation. When Alameda Parkway was being constructed in 1937 (by the WPA) in order to provide access to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, workers discovered dinosaur tracks. As those footprints were damaged and destroyed over time, more tracks were intentionally uncovered in later decades. These were found to include mostly Iguanodon-like footprints, perhaps from an ornithopod dinosaur called Eolambia. Omnivorous bird-like ornithomimid tracks, crocodilian tracks, and large carnivorous theropod tracks are also present. The site offers guided bus tours, interpretive signage, a small Exhibit Hall with geological and paleontological displays, and a gift shop. On the West side of the hogback is the Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center, an interactive exhibit also owned by Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. Dinosaur Ridge's interpretive signs at trail locations explain the local geology, paleo-ecology, trace fossils, bone fossils, economic development of coal, oil, and clay, and many other geologic and paleontological features.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q5278648, matched on coordinates and name (652 m apart).

What to expect

Operated by

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge

Official site

How to reach it

Named places within 25 miles

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 12.4 miles of Dinosaur Ridge Discovery Center. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

When to go

Light through the year

Local time (America/Denver).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lakewood, 6 mi away.

Where this comes from

OpenStreetMap element way/521961945