Encore - Sauropod Print in Dinosaur Valley State Park

January 28, 2017

EPOD_EncoreSauropodFootPrint

Today and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating images.

Photographer: Loren Ann Stiles
Summary Author: Loren Ann Stiles

September 2011 Earth Science Picture of the Day Viewer's ChoiceThe hard drought in Texas this summer has taken its toll; crops are shriveled, rivers are drying up and even cacti are showing stress. But droughts such as this offer a rare glimpse of an extensive collection of dinosaur tracks at the Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas. Normally covered in water, the tracks of sauropods and theropods are for the time being exposed in the limestone bed of the Paluxy River. This small sauropod print is approximately 12 in (30 cm) across. The setting for this park was formed by sediment deposited more than 100 million years ago along rivers that once flowed into an ancient sea. Over perhaps the last 1 million years, the layered sediment has been gradually worn away revealing the long ago submerged footprints. Photo taken on August 2, 2011.

Photo Details: Camera Model: Canon PowerShot G10; Focal Length: 6.1mm; Aperture: f/4.0; Exposure Time: 0.0050 s (1/200); ISO equiv: 80.