We have failed you Utah. In almost 4 years we haven’t taken the time to talk about Utah’s incredible dinosaur past! If you have lived in Utah, or maybe even traveled through, you know that Utah has 13 different dinosaur quarries and museums.
The Utah History Encyclopedia has an informative article by Martha Hayden regarding Utah’s dinosaur past. Did you know that in 1988 the Allosaurus was named the fossil of Utah? Utah was the perfect climate for many different types of dinosaurs over the years. Ms. Hayden writes, “The first dinosaur to be found in Utah was discovered during an 1859 U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers Expedition led by Captain John N. Macomb to explore southeastern Utah and locate the confluence of the Green and Grand (Colorado) Rivers. A number of bones from the front leg were collected by the expedition’s scientist Dr. John S. Newberry, but much material remained imbedded in hard sandstone on the steep cliff where the site is located. The specimen, a sauropod dinosaur, was named Dystrophaeus viaemalae by paleontologist E. D. Cope. Since it is based on limited material, its taxonomic position is uncertain. The exact location of this site had been lost since its original discovery and was only relocated in 1987.”
Whether you visit Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, Utah or you take your kids or yourself to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point, there are plenty of opportunities up and down the Wasatch Front to learn about the history of Utah’s Dinosaurs. Utah.com has each museum from Ogden to St. George listed. If you are looking for dino destinations, Utah’s Adventure Family has mapped out the perfect trip!
Check out this video tour of the Dinosaur quarry in Vernal from National Parks Traveler on YouTube:
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