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FOOTPRINT PRESERVATION PROCESS
FOOTPRINT PRESERVATION PROCESS
How the footprints were preserved for millions of years.
When the dinosaurs roamed, they left footprints in a layer of softer sediment, which then impressed on the sandstone below. While the top layer eroded over time, the footprints remained preserved in the harder surface below, and that is what remains today.
The prints were discovered in 1802, the first dinosaur footprints scientifically described and are believed to have been left by dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic period 200 Million years ago.
The Connecticut river valley region was once made up of subtropical wetlands and shallow lakes. The dinosaurs that left these tracks could have ranged from small herbivores to 20-foot long carnivores.
In regard to the perfect preservation of such a vast number of geologically ancient animal tracks, no district in the world is at all comparable with the Connecticut Valley.
When the dinosaurs roamed, they left footprints in a layer of softer sediment, which then impressed on the sandstone below. While the top layer eroded over time, the footprints remained preserved in the harder surface below, and that is what remains today.
Facts about the Footprints
Facts about the Footprints
Based on information from 'the trustees of reservations'
History
History
The Holyoke Valley is home to the first dinosaur tracks known to scientists. In general, the area is known in the scientific world for its abundance in dinosaur tracks.
The 190-million-year-old Holyoke Dinosaur footprints we see today were discovered in the 1920s by construction workers who were constructing Route 5.
These tracks were successfully preserved naturally, while slowly transforming into rock and staying protected from erosion.
Holyoke Species
Holyoke Species
The Holyoke footprint tracks were from three identified species, according to Yale University Professor John Ostrom.
The species include the Eubrontes giganteus, the Anchisaurus sillmani, and the Grallator cuneatus.
Group Dynamics
Group Dynamics
Professor John Ostrom's work helped to determine that many of the dinosaurs in the Holyoke Valley travelled in packs or herds.
DJI_0625.MP4Fossilized Ripples
Fossilized Ripples
Also visible in the area are what are essentially fossilized ripples, showing where a body of water once came up to meet the shore.
DJI_0617.MP4The parallel paths of many of the tracks contributed to the theory of gregariousness in Dinosaurs — that they traveled in groups. But the later discovery of the ripples led later scientists to believe dinosaurs were traveling parallel to the shoreline, and not necessarily each other.
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