Dinosaur Ridge

Dinosaur Ridge
Ridge
Tracks on Dinosaur Ridge
Dinosaur Ridge
Coordinates: 39°40′33″N 105°11′36″W / 39.6757°N 105.1934°W / 39.6757; -105.1934
Location	Dinosaur Ridge, part of the Golden-Morrison Fossil Areas National Natural Landmark, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Part of	Dakota Hogback
Age	Cretaceous and Jurassic

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 1876, fossil excavation began at Dinosaur Ridge under the direction of Yale paleontologist Dr. Othniel Charles Marsh.^[1] 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 1876. 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 Ampitheatre, workers discovered dinosaur tracks.^[2] 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, a Discovery Center, and a gift shop. 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.^[3][4][5]