Dinosaur Park Formation

Dinosaur Park Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Cretaceous, Campanian, 76.5–74.4 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Dinosaur Park Formation exposed along the Red Deer River in Dinosaur Provincial Park, southeastern Alberta, Canada.
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Belly River Group
Underlies	Bearpaw Formation
Overlies	Oldman Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone (lower) Mudstone and siltstone (upper)
Other	Bentonite and coal
Location
Coordinates	49°12′N 110°24′W / 49.2°N 110.4°W / 49.2; -110.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	56°24′N 75°48′W / 56.4°N 75.8°W / 56.4; -75.8
Region	Alberta
Country	Canada
Extent	Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Type section
Named for	Dinosaur Provincial Park
Named by	Eberth, D.A. and Hamblin, A.P.[1][2]
Year defined	1993
Dinosaur Park Formation (Canada) Show map of Canada Dinosaur Park Formation (Alberta) Show map of Alberta

The Dinosaur Park Formation is the uppermost member of the Belly River Group (also known as the Judith River Group), a major geologic unit in southern Alberta. It was deposited during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 76.5 and 74.4 million years ago.^[3] It was deposited in alluvial and coastal plain environments, and it is bounded by the nonmarine Oldman Formation below it and the marine Bearpaw Formation above it.^[4]

The Dinosaur Park Formation contains dense concentrations of dinosaur skeletons, both articulated and disarticulated, which are often found with preserved remains of soft tissues. Remains of other animals such as fish, turtles, and crocodilians, as well as plant remains, are also abundant.^[5] The formation has been named after Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the formation is well exposed in the badlands that flank the Red Deer River.^[2]