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Dinosaur National Monument

Hauling Fossils Out By Horse In The Early 1900s, Dinosaur National Monument

A black and white photo circa 1909 of horses hauling plaster-wrapped fossils from what is now Dinosaur National Monument

Here's a little throwback for you. Back in the early 1900s, wrapped Jurassic-period fossil bones were hauled out of what is now Dinosaur National Monument via horse. According to the National Park Service: "Dinosaur National Monument includes one of Earth's richest known dinosaur fossil beds. These remains are from the Jurassic period 150 million years ago. During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river's edge. When rains returned, flood waters carried the jumbled bones of over 500 dinosaurs, representing ten species, here."

Earl Douglass diaries edited by Evan Hall via NPS

Rafting The Yampa River, Dinosaur National Monument

Rafters on muddy river water between tall canyon walls, Dinosaur National Monument

Rafting the Yampa and Green rivers in Dinosaur National Monument is a great way to see the landscape from a different perspective. According to the National Park Service, "From origins high in the Rocky Mountains, the Green and Yampa Rivers wind their way across sagebrush covered plains before entering this outstretched arm of the Unita Mountains. The mountains force the rivers into tight channels surrounded by towering cliffs. Drops and obstructions in the rivers create rapids.

NPS/Jacob W. Frank

Deluge Shelter Pictographs, Dinosaur National Monument

Red-colored paintings of bighorn rams on the rocks at Dinosaur National Monument

Approximately 800 to 1,400 years ago, this area was home the ancestral indigenous people of the region. They left evidence of their presence in the form of petroglyphs, patterns chipped or carved into the rock, and pictographs, patterns painted on the rock. For a thousand years, this rock overhang has shaded these pictographs from the strong midday sun. This limited exposure to sunlight may have helped to preserve the vibrant colors in these ancient images.

National Park Service

A View Of The Green River And Mitten Park Fault From Harpers Corner, Dinosaur National Monument

A muddy ribbon of river with folded and faulted rocks beneath a blue sky at Dinosaur National Monument

Located on the Colorado side of the monument, the Harpers Corner Overlook provides a stunning view of the Green and Yampa Rivers as they join and carve vast canyons. The upturned layers of the Mitten Park Fault below the overlook dramatize the millions of years worth of erosion needed to create the staggering geologic views.

NPS - Dan Johnson

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