Jurassic

National Monument

(BLM)

Utah

Authorized: March 12, 2019

2,543 acres

Official Site: https://www.blm.gov/learn/interpretive-centers/cleveland-lloyd-dinosaur-quarry

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_National_Monument

Jurassic National Monument, at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, is well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found, is a paleontological site located near Cleveland, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell, a part of the geological layers known as the Morrison Formation.

The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) opened a visitor center at the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in 1968. This was the first-ever BLM visitor center. On April 28, 2007 a new, larger facility was dedicated that has updated exhibits. The new visitor center generates its own electricity from rooftop solar panels.

The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed into law March 12, 2019, named it as a national monument.

Links

Trump approves five national monuments – from black history to dinosaur bonesThe new sites created by a sweeping public lands bill have been years in the making – here’s our guide

Jurassic National Monument

Location: northern part of the San Rafael Swell, 32 miles south of Price, Utah

A new 2,543-acre Jurassic national monument will rename and protect the area known as the Cleveland-Lloyd dinosaur quarry, currently overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. The quarry contains the densest concentration of Jurassic-era dinosaur bones ever found. Scientists have discovered more than 74 individual dinosaurs there, comprised of 12,000 bones and even a fossilized egg.

Scientists from the University of Utah started exploring the quarry in 1929. The vast majority of bones at the site (75%) come from carnivores, which remains a mystery for paleontologists. Why did so many meat-eaters perish there? Some hypothesize there was a kind of predator trap, potentially connected to a watering hole, back in the Jurassic era.

For visitors today, there are plenty of opportunities to see science in action: paleontologists are still working to carefully excavate bones there. There is also a small museum that displays a complete Allosaur skeletal reconstruction and a Stegosaur, while self-guided walks let visitors wander where dinosaurs once roamed.

Lands bill would create Jurassic National Monument in Emery CountyA new Utah public lands bill was introduced Wednesday establishing the Jurassic National Monument and the 383,380-acre San Rafael Swell Western Heritage and Historic Mining National Conservation Area. Rep. John Curtis says it has broad consensus.

Text - S.47 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation ActText for S.47 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act