Texas Drought Reveals 113 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprints

113 million year old dinosaur footprints revealed in Dinosaur Valley State ParkPhoto byDinosaur Valley State Park - Friends/Facebook

The relentless drought in central Texas has uncovered a remarkable piece of history, as 113-million-year-old dinosaur tracks have emerged in Dinosaur Valley State Park.

Somervell County, where the park is located, is currently experiencing “Extreme Drought.”

The park is known for protecting various dinosaur footprints, but this summer’s low water levels in the Paluxy River have exposed a new set of prehistoric footprints.

Volunteers and researchers have counted 75 new footprints in the dry riverbed so far.

It has been another very hot, very dry year, so our researchers are trying to take advantage of the drought.- Jeff Davis, Park Superintendent, Dinosaur Valley State Park. Jeff Davis, Park Superintendent, Dinosaur Valley State Park.

Two distinct types of dinosaurs left their marks. Acrocanthosaurus, a massive carnivore standing 15 feet tall and weighing 14,000 pounds, left three-toed footprints.

Sauroposeidon proteles, Texas’s official state dinosaur since 2009, left larger, bulbous-shaped tracks akin to elephant footprints.

The tracks are remnants of the Cretaceous Period when these creatures roamed a shallow sea, and their imprints solidified into limestone. While the sediment and river water protect the tracks, they will erode away.

Volunteers and researchers have faced challenges because of scorching temperatures, with the riverbed reaching 126 degrees Fahrenheit. They are documenting and studying the tracks to learn about ancient Texas.

The drought has persisted for the second consecutive year, revealing submerged tracks within the park.

This extraordinary find is similar to a discovery in 1909 when a child named George Adams discovered dinosaur footprints in the Paluxy River while playing.

Later, in 1937, paleontologist R.T. Bird further identified prints,was and a section of the riverbed, known as the Glen Rose Trackway, is displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The discovery highlights Texas’s rich fossil heritage. It is a poignant reminder of the prehistoric giants that once walked the same land where modern-day enthusiasts now stand.