Dinosaurs were the most unique of animals. What other group of animals, alive or dead, has the ability to transfix the attention of children like these giant, lumbering beasts? Museums, like the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, showcasing the remains of these former residents, continue to be flooded with children and families fascinated with their bleached remains. For most people, museums are their only connection with dinosaurs: Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park, on the other hand, has both badlands and bones.
Located 48 km north-east of Brooks, this park is worth exploring. As you approach the park, it suddenly appears as if it’s been carved out of the prairies itself. This gaping hole stretches for several miles as the sluggish Red Deer River meanders across its base.
This area has not always looked like this. During the time of the great dinosaurs this was a lush flood plain area not far from the great Bearspaw Sea. Over millions of years, the river left behind layer upon layer of sediments, much like the pages of a book, each layer telling the story of a different period in the history of this amazing site. Today these clay, mud and sand deposits are known as the Judith River Formation, and are famous all over the world for their bone deposits.
While the many rivers flowing over this flood plain were depositing their mineral cargoes, many more dinosaurs were roaming the same flood plains foraging for food. Large plant eaters like the duck billed Parasaurolophus reached their flat bills up to forage on the tall trees lining the flood plain. Ever vigilant, they kept a sharp eye out for the vicious Albertasaurus or it’s equally hungry relatives. Never far from safety, they quickly disappeared into the forest—or under the waves—at the first sign of danger. Not always successful, the large meat eating dinosaurs brought many of their more docile prey down, and feasted along the margin of forest and stream. Amidst the sounds of flesh tearing and tendons snapping, these hefty hunters feasted. Occasionally, the remains of their prey were buried beneath the sediments only to reappear millions of years later to the delight of Paleontologists. Many even have teeth from their hunter still embedded in their bones—a sign of their untimely demise.
Visiting Dinosaur Provincial Park today, we see a very different world. The wet marshland is gone and replaced by a desert like canyon. Filling this canyon are numerous intricately carved hills and hummocks showing nature’s ongoing redevelopment of this once wet site. Exploring the park you can witness an endless variety of bone and fossil fragments as nature continually uncovers the remains of animals lost for millennia. Long vanished volcanoes dropped ash that today forms a popcorn like clay surface over much of the area. When wet, it undergoes an unpleasant metamorphosis as it swells to almost twice its normal size and provides an almost frictionless surface. This area is for dry weather only. Luckily it’s near desert conditions tends to keep rain at bay.
Along the banks of the Red Deer River, the desert gives way to a lush cottonwood grove that teems with life. Living for up to 200 years, these trees provide shade for your visit, as well as nesting and roosting sites to more than 130 species of birds. Animals like the mule deer, cottontail rabbits and coyote also wander the parkland; maintaining the predator-prey relationships that have gone on since the time of the dinosaurs.
Much of the park is set aside as Restricted Areas accessible only through one of the many guided tours offered by the parks interpretive naturalists. These take you into the heart of the badlands where you may see excavations in progress. In addition, there are two self guided trails, the "Badlands Trail" and the "Cottonwoods Flat Trail", which provide a more leisurely introduction to the area. Please remember that all bones must be left where they are found so that others may enjoy these relics of times past.
Along the banks of the Red Deer a cozy campground provides you with a comfortable base for exploring. If you prefer more civilized habitation, the Douglas Country Inn, 4 km north of Brooks, on the way to Dinosaur, provides a rustic country experience with 7 rooms and a licensed dining room. Call (403)362-2873 for more information.
While at the park, make sure you visit the Field Station of the Tyrrell Museum. This satellite museum of the larger Drumheller facility provides a variety of displays on the prehistoric life in the Dinosaur valley. It also serves as a field laboratory for the many paleontologists stationed in the park. For more information on Dinosaur Provincial Park, contact them directly at (403) 378-4342.
