Alaska
What dinosaur tracks tell us about life in ancient Alaska
A team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks has uncovered a treasure trove of dinosaur tracks in Denali National Park and Preserve. The site, named “The Coliseum” by the researchers, is the largest of its kind in Alaska and reveals a rich diversity of prehistoric life.
The Coliseum
The Coliseum spans an area equivalent to one-and-a-half football fields and contains hundreds of tracks preserved in layers of rock. The site records the activity of multiple dinosaur species over thousands of years, dating back to nearly 70 million years ago. The researchers published their findings in the journal Historical Biology.
The site was not easy to spot at first, as it is hidden among the towering cliffs of the park. The lead author of the paper and a former UAF graduate student, Dustin Stewart, said that the site was not just one level of rock with tracks on it but a sequence through time. He said that up until now, Denali had other track sites that were known, but nothing of this magnitude.