Dinosaur Provincial Park

• Official Name: Dinosaur Provincial Park
• Location: Alberta, Canada
• Year of Inscription: 1979; updates made in 1992/3

Dinosaur Provincial Park is a 29-square-mile (75-square-kilometer) area in Alberta, Canada, which is one of the richest sources of dinosaur fossils ever found. Since the first park fossil was identified as belonging to a dinosaur in 1884, more than five hundred museum-quality fossils, along with many other fossils representing nearly forty different dinosaur species, have been found within its confines. The significance of the paleontological discoveries made in the park led to its classification as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1979.

Located in southeastern Alberta in the Red Deer River valley, the park is also known for its beautiful and diverse scenery. Within the park are three distinct ecosystems. They include the largest badlands in Canada, along with riverside and prairie grassland ecosystems. The park is part of the warmest and driest Dry Mixed-grass sub-region in Alberta’s Grassland Natural Region. The region features warm summers, cold winters, relatively light precipitation, and frequent high winds. It is radically different from the subtropical forests that dominated in the past and led to the high dinosaur population that left its legacy in the park.

While the park’s World Heritage Site designation is based on its scientific, ecological, and natural values, it also has a significant cultural history. The area was home to the Blackfoot Confederacy of First Nation people for centuries. They were the first to find dinosaur bones in the area, though the concept of the “dinosaur” had not yet been developed. In modern times, the park is open to scientists and the general public to explore and learn, though the removal of fossil material is strictly regulated and forbidden for the public. This protects the integrity and scientific value of the park for future generations.

History

Millennia ago, the climate in the Alberta area was very different. It was much more like Florida and the Southern United States, with humid subtropical weather that allowed giant palm trees and ferns to flourish. The area was along the coast of a shallow sea with east-flowing rivers that ended in an inland sea. The environment was warm and swamp-like, with plenty of sources of water and ample vegetation to serve as food and habitats. In this climate, all sorts of animals—including many types of dinosaurs—thrived.

The same conditions that allowed the dinosaurs to proliferate also helped preserve their remains. After death, many dinosaur bodies ended up in water, where they were covered by the sand and mud carried by the rivers and forming the bottoms of other bodies of water. This protected the remains as they decomposed. Eventually, the weight of these materials, the lack of oxygen, and minerals leeched from the water and mud converted the dinosaur bones, teeth, claws, and sometimes skin into fossil form. As time went on, more layers of sand and mud sediment were deposited over them, protecting and preserving them for millennia.

Scientists have identified three separate periods when sedimentary deposits contributed to the topography and geology of Dinosaur Provincial Park. The oldest is the Oldman Formation, followed by the Dinosaur Park Formation, and then the Bearpaw Formation. The park’s major dinosaur fossils are found in the Dinosaur Park Formation. The Oldman Formation also contains dinosaur fossils but in smaller quantities, while Bearpaw Formation is characterized by fossils of small marine life such as bivalves, gastropods, and mollusks.

Eventually, this area—like much of the Earth—underwent an Ice Age. Then, as the climate warmed once again and the ice began to melt, runoff created new rivers and carved the valley where the Red Deer Valley now runs. This runoff also carved the land in the area into the steep slopes and other characteristic terrain of the badlands. Runoff continues to change the topography of the land in Dinosaur Provincial Park’s badlands. It also carves away layers of sediment laid down in the past, making it easier to find the fossilized animal remains contained within them.

The runoff also helped to form some of the distinctive hoodoos found in the park’s badlands. A hoodoo is a tall spire of softer rock capped by a harder sedimentary rock that protects the softer rock beneath it from some of the effects of erosion. These hoodoos can range from the size of an adult person to ten stories in height.

At some point, the First Nation people of the Blackfoot Confederacy moved into what is now the park. The area was once again filled with plentiful plant and animal life, though of a different kind than when the dinosaurs predominated, and it supported hunting, fishing, and gathering practices that sustained the Indigenous people. According to their history, members of the Blackfoot Confederacy found what were later identified as dinosaur bones in the area. They referred to them as the Grandfathers of the Buffalo; the word “dinosaur” was not coined until 1842.

A few decades after the dinosaur category first got its name, Canadian geologist, cartographer, and mining consultant Joseph Tyrell was part of a team surveying in what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park. One day in 1884, he found several large bones and brought them to the attention of scientists. They were later identified as belonging to an Albertosaurus. In 1888, the Geological Survey of Canada sent lapidary Thomas Chesmer Weston into the Red Deer River valley area to hunt for fossils. His finds in the park’s Dead Lodge Canyon prompted many other fossil hunters to come to the area.

On June 27, 1955, as part of Alberta’s fiftieth jubilee celebration, Dinosaur Provincial Park was formed with the intent of protecting and preserving the many fossil beds that had been identified in the area. It was overseen by amateur fossil hunter and farmer Roy Fowler, who served as its first warden. The park’s name was changed in 1962 to Dinosaur Provincial Park. On October 26, 1979, the scientific and ecological value of the park was recognized by UNESCO when they named it a World Heritage Site. In 1992, the area of Dinosaur Provincial Park was expanded, although the expansion was decreased the following year to allow for oil and natural gas exploration.

Significance

Since the first dinosaur fossils were identified at Dinosaur Provincial Park, it has become one of the most productive fossil beds known. Between 1979, when it was named a World Heritage Site, and 1991, a total of 23,347 fossil specimens of various sizes were extracted. By the second decade of the twenty-first century, the site had yielded more than 150 complete fossilized skeletons. These finds represent at least four dozen species of dinosaurs from ten different families. Many are of such high quality that they are displayed in more than thirty museums around the world.

In addition, the area has provided a wealth of non-dinosaur fossils. Plant fossils identified include fern fronds, conifer needles, and plant pollen and spores. Non-dinosaur animal fossils found include teeth and bone fragments from rodents, while fossilized remains of sharks, rays, and other ocean animals, as well as frogs, salamanders, crocodiles, and several kinds of turtles, have been found representing marine life. Many of these specimens are in excellent condition. This diversity of type and species and the high quality of the fossilized remains, not only provides paleontologists with valuable information about the individual specimens they unearth but also allows them to put them into context chronologically.

The park also has a rich variety of contemporary plant and animal life that makes it a valuable ecosystem for preservation and study. Plant life observable in Dinosaur Provincial Park includes Opuntia (prickly pear) and Pediocactus (pincushion) cactus, which are more commonly associated with southern desert locations, as well as various forms of sagebrush. Prairie grasses are found in abundance in some park areas, while the riverside areas feature cottonwood and willow trees. The more than 160 bird species that have been identified in the park include eagles, falcons, Canada geese, warblers, woodpeckers, bluebirds, and nighthawks. Land animals include pronghorns, mule and white-tail deer, coyotes, and rabbits, in addition to a number of species of snakes, including rattlesnakes and garter snakes.

Its status as a World Heritage Site also provides additional protection for the resources found in the park. While visitors are allowed and people do sometimes find previously undiscovered fossils, the unauthorized removal of fossils is prohibited. Dinosaur remains also contributed to the development of fossil fuels such as petroleum, and the park sits on oil and gas fields that are also protected. Nearby fuel extraction facilities are monitored to make sure they do not impact the integrity of the park, and other activity, such as livestock grazing, is also monitored to protect the site. The management and oversight provided as part of the UNESCO designation ensure that the park will continue to be a valuable source of paleontological and ecological research and study for future generations.

Bibliography

“Dinosaur Provincial Park.” Alberta Parks, albertaparks.ca/parks/south/dinosaur-pp. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Dinosaur Provincial Park.” New World Encyclopedia, 29 Jan. 2024, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dinosaur‗Provincial‗Park. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Dinosaur Provincial Park.” Parks Canada, 19 Sept. 2023, www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/spm-whs/sites-canada/sec02c. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Dinosaur Provincial Park.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/list/71. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Dinosaur Provincial Park.” World Heritage Datasheet, Jan. 2012, world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/dinosaur-provincial-park. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Places to Go.” Travel Alberta, www.travelalberta.com/us/places-to-go/provincial-parks/dinosaur-provincial-park. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

“Steveville Bridge - Dinosaur Provincial Park.” Alberta Parks, 22 Aug. 2024, www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/dinosaur-pp/information-facilities/camping/steveville-bridge. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.