Giant dinosaur tracks dating back about 110 million years have been discovered in Texas as the state endures record heat and an ongoing drought. The tracks were found by a group of volunteers in Dinosaur Valley State Park, who were amazed at the number of tracks they uncovered. Paul Baker, manager of the park store, described the find as an “amazing sight.” The park is home to a large number of dinosaur tracks made by sauropods and theropods that lived in the area about 113 million years ago.
The discovery was made possible by the dropping water levels caused by the severe drought plaguing Texas this summer. Over a third of the state is now covered by extreme drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor. Baker noted that the riverbed in the area where the tracks were found is now completely dry, with soil that has been further dried out by the extreme temperatures. Despite the negative effects of the drought, Glen Kuban, a paleontological expert who has been studying dinosaur tracks in the area for over 40 years, sees the discovery as a silver lining.
Kuban and his team have been working to clean up two large park sites, known as Ballroom and Denio, and expand the mapping of the park’s footprints to include those previously buried under mud and water. The newly discovered tracks are believed to belong to two species: Acrocanthosaurus, which weighed up to 7 tons, and Paluxysaurus, also known as Sauropodseiden, which weighed around 44 tons. Kuban emphasized that the tracks are not easily revealed by the drought and require a significant amount of effort from the volunteers to remove sediment and debris covering them.
Last year, Kuban led a group of volunteers to clean and map the longest dinosaur tail in North America, as well as several other footprints in the area. Baker, who grew up in Dinosaur Valley State Park, expressed her gratitude for being able to give back to the place and community she loves by helping uncover dinosaur tracks. However, she also acknowledged the impact of the current drought and record temperatures, stating that while it is exciting to find such remarkable tracks, she misses the beauty of the Paluxy River. Despite the historical discoveries, the priority remains addressing and mitigating the effects of the ongoing drought.