A day in Dinosaur National Monument

Entrance to Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.
The monument entrance. 

While camping in the Flaming Gorge, we drove sixty miles south for a day visit to Dinosaur National Monument.

The visitor center of the national monument.
We watched a short film about the place in the visitor center. 

This area of Utah has an impressive wall preserving fossils of dinosaurs and other ancient species - the Wall of Bones and the Quarry -, old petroglyphs from Native Americans, and the cabin of Josie Morris - the lady that lived 90 years in the wild West and had connections with the famous gang of Butch Cassidy, the "Wild Bunch".

The Wall of Bones in Dinosaur National Monument.
The Wall of Bones. You are allowed to touch the ancient fossils. 

Building protecting the wall of dinosaur's bones.
The wall of the mountain is protected by this building.

Femur of Camarasaurus.
Gigantic femur of a Camarasaurus.

Skull of Allosaurus.
One of the best preserved skulls ever found of an Allosaurus

The landscape of Dinosaur National Monument is wild, strange, and spectacular. It's a big salad of rocks from different times, mixed and twisted  in every possible direction. 

Twisted terrain in Dinosaur National Monument.
The terrain layers bent here revealing ancient remains of the Jurassic fauna. 

Remains of an ancient sea in eastern Utah.
The red grounds are remains of an ancient sea.

The landscape of Dinosaur National Monuments.
What a mix of terrains through time. 

Interesting rock formations in eastern Utah.
Interesting shapes. 

There is the Turtle Rock and the Split Mountain - split by the Green River. 

Turtle Rock, Dinosaur National Monument.
Turtle Rock. 

Split Mountain, Utah.
Split Mountain. 

We also played with the echoes of the Box Canyon, a short hike from Josie Morris' cabin - she used the canyon to pen and raise stock.

Box Canyon, Utah.
Box Canyon. 

Cabin of Jossie Morris.
The cabin of Jossie Morris. 

Inside Jossie Morris cabin.
Peeking from the inside. 

The ancient art recorded as petroglyphs is amazing. 

Wall of petroglyphs in Dinosaur National Monument.
A wall of ancient art from the Fremont culture from around 300 AD. 

Petroglyphs depicting a person and a longhorn sheep.
The Cub Creek petroglyphs depicting a longhorn sheep and a person.

And there is more than we could not see because this national monument is huge and has another section in Colorado. 

(Posted from the phone.)

Check this page to license our photos.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chekika: Forgotten spot of Everglades National Park close to Miami

Google search and the little blog

Ernest Hemingway's "Oklahoma": "All of the Indians are dead (a good Indian is a dead Indian)"