Park Archives: Dinosaur National Monument

Steamboat Rock marks the spectacular meeting place of the Green and Yampa rivers. As the rivers cut deep into the underlying rock layers, they exposed a dramatic geologic history of faults, folds, and uplifts. These events created the colorful array of living landscapes, soils, and water sources that you see today.

Rock layers preserve ancient plant and animal fossils from land and sea. Sandstone cliffs bear perplexing artworks that whisper of a more recent, human past. Falcons soar above waters where rare fish swim and bighorn sheep linger. Such riches led President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1938, to add over 200,000 acres of canyon country to the original 80 acres.

Dinosaur National Monument includes one of Earth's richest known dinosaur fossil beds. These remains are from the Jurassic period 150 million years ago. During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river's edge. When rains returned, flood waters carried the jumbled bones of over 500 dinosaurs, representing ten species, here.

Ancient river sediments, now called Morrison sandstone, entombed the dinosaur bones. Minerals then filled the bones (though some organic material survived) and cast them in stone. Erosion eventually exposed the fossils. In 1909 Earl Douglass, of Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum, declared this site "the best-looking dinosaur prospect I have ever found."

The park straddles the border of Utah and Colorado—a remote area on the edge of the Uinta Basin. Its riches include the namesake Jurassic fossils, multi-hued canyons, and two rivers. Over one billion years, geologic lifting, warping, and erosion created a surprising, varied landscape where many plant and animal species thrive and the remains of ancient life can be seen. The park includes benchlands of the Green and Yampa rivers, which carved the deep canyons that thrill rafters, hikers, and wildlife and scenery lovers.

Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to a visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website.

Wilderness Over 90 percent of the park is managed as wilderness, a gift to people today and to future generations. A formal designation by Congress as wilderness could protect forever the land's wild character, natural conditions, opportunities for solitude, and scientific, educational, and historical values. In wilderness people can sense being a part of the whole community of life on Earth.

UTAH
Quarry Visitor Center Open year-round, this is the main visitor center. Start here—whether you've come to see dinosaur fossils or to learn about other places to explore.

Quarry Exhibit Hall Marvel at the great wall of bones with over 1,500 fossils embedded in the rock. You can even touch some of the 149-million-year-old fossils. Rangers are on duty to answer questions.

Cub Creek and Split Mountain offer hiking trails, ancient petroglyphs and pictographs, and homesteader cabins.

COLORADO
Canyon Visitor Center Open seasonally, this visitor center, two miles east of Dinosaur, CO, is the gateway to the park's canyon country. It offers a film, bookstore, and information. This part of the monument has no dinosaur fossils.

Harpers Corner Road winds 31 miles across sagebrush-covered plateaus to the brink of sheer-walled canyons. Several overlooks, some featuring trails, provide stunning views. Hike the two-mile round-trip Harpers Corner Trail for a culminating experience. Echo Park and Yampa Bench roads are unpaved and require high-clearance vehicles. Roads may be impassable when wet—ask about current road conditions at a visitor center. Gas, food, lodging, and supplies are unavailable inside the park.

Deerlodge Park, on the monument's eastern end, is the launch point for river trips (permits required) on the naturally flowing Yampa River. Spend a night at the campground and hike the primitive trails in this far corner of the park.

Gates of Lodore at the park's northern tip is the starting place for river trips (permits required) on the Green River. In 1869 John Wesley Powell floated through this dark, foreboding canyon. A majestic view rewards you at the end of a short hike from the campground.

Safety and Regulations
Summer temperatures can exceed 100°F, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Carry and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. • Do not disturb or remove natural, historic, or cultural features. • Do not feed, hunt, trap, or harass wildlife. • Pets must be leashed at all times. They are not allowed in public buildings, on most trails, on the river, or in the backcountry.

Never leave pets in vehicles. • Firearms are subject to state law. For regulations check the website. • Off-road driving is illegal. ATVs and UTVs are not permitted on any park roads. • Camp only at designated sites. Permits are required for all overnight backcountry trips and all river trips.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1947		1955		1957
1960	1962	1965	cover only 1966	cover only 1968	cover only 1968
1972	1975	1976	1979
1983		cover only 1986-1999		cover only 2000
cover only 2004		cover only 2005-2015		cover only 2015-2021

River Concessioners 04/79		Day Hiking 05/83		Discover Your Park! Date Unknown
Geology Date Unknown		Josie Bassett Morris DNM 08/89		Josie Bassett Morris 2007
Josie Bassett Morris July 2015		Delicate Petals DNM 4/94		Planning Your Visit 03/86
Planning Your Visit DNM 11/93		Fossil Discovery Trail Date Unknown		Fossil Discovery Trail 2013
Fossil Discovery Trail 2016		Fossil Discovery Trail April 2021		Cub Creek Area Date Unknown
Backcountry Camping Date Unknown		Boating in the Monument 2015 Information and Regulations 2015		Guide to Important Fish Species in Dinosaur National Monument June 2014
Hiking Trails Date Unknown		Hiking Trails 2013		Hiking Trails 2016
Hiking Trails 2021		Rock Art 2/96		Petroglyphs and Pictographs Date Unknown
Petroglyphs and Pictographs July 2015		Petroglyphs and Pictographs June 2021		Our Newest Weed Warriors 01/09/2009
Visitor Information Date Unknown		Date Unknown	Traveling with Pets Date Unknown	Gates of Lodore Nature Trail 1982	cover only Red Rock Nature Trail 1979
cover only Harpers Corner Trail 1977	Harpers Corner Trail 1977	cover only Harpers Corner Trail Guide 2016		cover only Journey Through Time A Guide to the Harpers Corner Road 1986
cover only Journey Through Time A Guide to the Harpers Corner Road 1986		cover only Journey Through Time A Guide to the Harpers Corner Road 1986		cover only Cub Creek Sampler 1987
cover only A Guide to the Fossil Bones of the Quarry Date Unknown		cover only A Guide to the Fossil Bones at the Quarry Exhibit Hall 2016		cover only Gates of Lodore Trail Guide 2017
cover only Sound of Silence Hiking Route 1992		cover only Sound of Silence Hiking Route 1992		cover only Sound of Silence Trail Guide 2017
cover only Tour of the Tilted Rocks 1993		cover only Tour of the Tilted Rocks 2015		cover only Cold Desert Trail 1993
Island Park and Jones Hole Areas Date Unknown
Trading Cards
(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

A New Species of Apatosaurus (W.J. Holland, extract from Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Vol. 10 Issue 1-2, 1915)

Dinosaur Country (G.E. Untermann and B.R. Untermann, extract from Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 26 No. 3, 1958; ©Utah State Historical Society)

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Dinosaur National Monument NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/DINO/NRR-2021/2245 (David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Matt Ley, Jill Handwerk, Hannah Shepler, John Kemper, David Weinzimmer, Carlos Linares and B. Maynard, April 2021)

"Newton Drury and the Echo Park Dam Controversy" (Susan R. Neel, extract from Forest & Conservation History, Vol. 38, No. 2, April 1994; ©Forest History Society and American Society for Environmental History)

The Dinosaur Quarry Natural History Handbook (John M. Good, Theodore E. White and Gilbert F. Stucker, 1961)

Late Jurassic Ecosystem Reconstruction During Deposition of the Morrison Formation and Related Beds in the Western Interior of the United States (Christine E. Turner, Fred Peterson and The Morrison Research Team)

Paleosols in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation—Implications for Paleoclimate, Paleohydrology, and Sequence Stratigraphy: Final Report (Timothy M. Demko)

Laustrine Carbonate Deposits in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior: Final Report (Stan P. Dunagan)

Stable Isotope Studies in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior: Final Report (Douglas D. Ekart and Thure E. Cerling)

A Survey of Paleontological Resources in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in National Park Service Units of the Western Interior: Final Report (George F. Engelmann)

Paleoenvironmental Implications of Freshwater Gastropod Faunas in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior—An Enigma Between Geologic and Biologic Evidence; Final Report (Emmett Evanoff)

Paleontologic Resources in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Curecanti National Recreation Area, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, Colorado: Final Report (Anthony R. Fiorillo)

Bivalves as Tools for Paleoenvironmental Analysis—Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior; Final Report (Steven C. Good)

Synthesis of Terrestrial and Freshwater Trace Fossils, Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Rocky Mountain Region, Usañwhat Organism Behavior Tells Us About Jurassic Environments and Climates: Final Report (Stephen T. Hasiotis)

The Isotopic Age of the Morrison Formation in the Western Interior; Final Report (Bart J. Kowallis, Eric H. Christiansen, Alan L. Deino, Fred Peterson, Christine E. Turner, Michael J. Kunk and John D. Obradovich)

Palynological Evidence on the Age of the Morrison Formation in the Western Interior U.S.; Final Report (Ronald J. Litwin, Christine E. Turner and Fred Peterson)

The Paleoecological Framework of the Upper Part of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Fruita Paleontological Resource Area, Colorado; Final Report (Dennis L. Newell)

Biostratigraphy, Paleoecology, and Biogeography of Charophytes and Ostracodes from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior; Final Report (Michael E. Schudack, Christine E. Turner and Fred Peterson)

Characterization and Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of Pedogenic Carbonate at the Jurassic-Cretaceous Boundary, East-Central Utah and West-Central Colorado; Final Report (Gary L. Skipp)

Stratigraphy of the Morrison Formation and Related Beds in the Western Interior; Final Report (Christine E. Turner and Fred Peterson)

Stratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic Ralston Creek and Morrison Formations Near Denver, Colorado (Fred Peterson and Christine E. Turner)

Biostratigraphy of Dinosaurs in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior, USA (Christine E. Turner and Fred Peterson)

Late Jurassic Lacustrine Deposits and Implications for Paleohydrology—Deposition to Early Compaction (Christine E. Turner and Neil S. Fishman)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

Dinosaur National Monument: Past and Present Wm. Lee Stokes 1949	The Dinosaur Quarry John M. Good, Theodore E. White and Gilbert F. Stucker 1958	cover only A Popular Guide to the Geology of Dinosaur National Monument G.E. Untermann and B.R. Untermann 1969	cover only Dinosaur: The Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Linda West and Dan Chure 1994
cover only A Symbol of Wilderness: Echo Park and the American Conservation Movement Mark. W.T. Harvey 1994	cover only Echo Park: Struggle for Preservation Jon M. Cosco 1995	cover only Plant List 1996	cover only All Things Checklist Date Unknown