Red Gulch Dinosaur Tractsite EarthCache
Red Gulch Dinosaur Tractsite
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The tracksite is located on BLM land 5 miles south of the junction of U.S. Highway 14 and Red Gulch/Alkali National Backcountry Byway. Access is on a well maintained gravel road. The elevation is 4537 and the site is advertised wheel chair accessible. A boardwalk leads to an overlook, interpretative signs and the site. Not recommended during inclement weather. Please sign the visitors log and BE SURE TO READ THE REQUIREMENTS ON HOW TO LOG THIS CACHE AS A FIND.
The Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite occurs near the base of the Sundance Formation. This tracksite is the largest in Wyoming and one of the most extensive in North America. This tracksite is one of only a few worldwide formed during the Middle Jurassic Period (160 to 180 million years ago) and virtually nothing is known about dinosaurs in North America during this period. The tracksite is approximately 167 million years old.
Until the tracksite was discovered in 1997, scientists thought only sea-dwelling creatures could have lived in this area during this time period because it was believed that most of Wyoming was covered by an ancient ocean called the Sundance Sea.
The tracksite has thousands of dinosaur tracks embedded in oolitic limestone.
To log this Earthcache:
Find a track and take a picture showing your GPS and upload that picture with your log. Then e-mail us your estimate of the size of that track and how you arrived at your answer. Please begin your e-mail with the name of the Earthcache and tell us how many people were in your group.
The following sources were used for this cache:
• U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming, Worland Field Office, Dinosaur Tracksite
• A 2005-2006 brochure, A SELF-GUIDED TOUR of the RED GULCH DINOSAUR TRACKSITE AREA, GeoScience Adventures, Inc., 1802 Highway 14 E, Shell, WY 82441. Scientific data by Erik P. Kvale Ph.D, Indiana University.
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