A drought in Texas has dried up a riverbed that runs through Dinosaur Valley State Park.
It exposing tracks of giant reptiles that lived about 113 million years ago, an official said Tuesday.
A drought in Texas has dried up a riverbed that runs through Dinosaur Valley State Park, exposing tracks of giant reptiles that lived about 113 million years ago, an official said Tuesday.
Images posted on Facebook show three-toed footprints running down a dry riverbed in this southern US state . It is “one of the longest sets of dinosaur footprints in the world,” says a message accompanying the images.
Finding
Stephanie Salinas Garcia of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said the dry weather made them visible.
“Due to excessive drought conditions last summer, the river dried up completely in most places, allowing more footprints to be discovered in the park,” he said.
“Under normal river conditions, these new tracks are underwater and are commonly filled with sediment, burying them and making them not as visible,” Garcia continued .
Most of the newly revealed footprints correspond to Acrocanthosaurus , weighing approximately 6,350 kilos as an adult and about 4.5 meters tall.
Another dinosaur, the Sauroposeidon , also strolled through the park. It was about 18 meters tall and weighed 44 tons.
Located in an inland area southwest of the city of Dallas, this park was once on the edge of an ancient ocean, and dinosaurs left their footprints in the mud, its website says.
However, rain is expected, which will surely cover the newly discovered footprints once again.
“Although they will soon be buried again by rain and river , Valley of the Dinosaurs State Park will continue to protect these 113-million-year-old footprints not only for this generation, but for generations to come,” Garcia said.
(With information from AFP)
