The Dinosaur Quarry. Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado-Utah

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fred A. Seaton, Secretary
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Conrad L. Wirth, Director
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents
By John M. Good, Theodore E. White and Gilbert F. Stucker
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE · Washington, D. C., 1958
The National Park System, of which Dinosaur National Monument is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people.
JURASSIC LANDSCAPE SHOWING ANIMALS AND PLANTS THAT LIVED HERE DURING MORRISON TIME. (FROM A PAINTING BY ERNEST UNTERMAN.)
As you approach Dinosaur National Monument from Jensen, Utah, you see the mass of Split Mountain and the deep, short canyons that scar its south slope near the Green River’s gorge. As you cross the National Monument boundary the grand view is lost and you begin to notice details. The masses of gray shale that seem to be carelessly piled against the tilted sandstone layers are bare of vegetation. The ground between the hills and the Green River is covered with sagebrush and greasewood, while along the river itself are a few large cottonwood trees and many bushes. A sharp turn brings a change of scene as your car enters a portal in the wall you have been following. The pronounced tilt of the rocks becomes more obvious.
A final steep climb and the visitor center is at hand. This building encloses a significant part of the Dinosaur Quarry, perhaps the greatest deposit of fossil dinosaur bones known today. From this quarry have come many of the dinosaur skeletons that are seen today in our great museums. After parking, a short walk to the overlook on the southeast reveals a splendid view of Split Mountain. Between that broad arch of eroded sandstone and the quarry lie steeply tilted sedimentary rocks of various compositions and hues. Buff and gray sandstones that weather into soft shapes are separated by reddish-brown shale. Directly to the east is a section of varicolored shale whose pastel pinks, reds, greens, grays, and whites justify the name of “rainbow beds” that was given them by geologists. In the upper part of this section are hard sandstone and limestone layers that resist the erosive action of wind and water. They stand higher than the softer shales and form hogbacks that rim Split Mountain.