Drought Unearths Huge Dinosaur Tracks In Texas River Bed
How would you like to be walking around one day and find dinosaur tracks? Thanks to the Texas drought, that has pretty much happened, but in an area well known for it's dinosaur discoveries.
While we've had some rainy weather lately in Lubbock and across Texas, we all know that this summer has been one long, dry and hot season. The drought has caused lower lake levels, crops to fail, and rivers to run dry. And in one of those dry riverbeds, evidence of creatures from the past.
The dried out riverbed of the Paluxy River in Glen Rose, Texas is where the massive dinosaur tracks where found. And if you didn't know, Glen Rose is home to the Dinosaur Valley State Park and this riverbed is in that park.
A video uploaded to Facebook by the park shows the massive dinosaur tracks:
So what kind of dinosaur do these tracks belong to? According to the Houston Chronicle, they're from dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago.
In an interview with CNN, park representative Stephanie Salinas Garcia said most of the recently discovered tracks belong to the Acrocanthosaurus, a 15-foot-tall dinosaur that weighed close to seven tons. Another species that left behind tracks was the Sauroposeidon, a 60-foot-tall, 44-ton dinosaur, Garcia said.
But don't expect the tracks to be uncovered very long. Rain is likely to cover up the tracks soon.
More than 60 percent of Texas was under extreme drought conditions last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. However, with rain in the forecast, the tracks are expected to be buried again soon, which Garcia explained helps protect the tracks from natural weathering and erosion.
"While these newer dinosaur tracks were visible for a brief amount of time, it brought about the wonder and excitement about finding new dinosaur tracks at the park," Garcia told CNN. "Dinosaur Valley State Park will continue to protect these 113-million-year-old tracks not only for present, but future generations."
A silver-lining during the drought and something many people never expected to see.