A severely drought knitting region in Texas has unveiled dinosaur tracks from 113 million years ago after a river dried up in a place coincidentally called Dinosaur Valley State Park.
CNN reports that park spokeswoman Stephanie Salinas Garcia said in an email that the tracks belong to Acrocanthosaurus, which would have stood 15 feet tall and weighed 700 tons as an adult.
She said another species that left tracks behind at the park in Glen Rose, Texas, was Sauroposeidon, which would be about 60 feet tall and weigh about 44 tons as an adult.
A dinosaur track at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas. Several tracks resurfaced after a river dried up due to drought conditions.
Paul Baker, Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park
Why this is a fleeting discovery: Forecasters in the region say with rain on the horizon, the tracks likely won’t be exposed for very long. Some areas of Texas have been denied with heavy rainfall, with Gov. Greg Abbott issuing an emergency declaration to help flood victims.
The tracks were unveiled in Texas after the Paluxy River dried up due to drought. NBC News said hundreds of theropod tracks were discovered in the area, southwest of Dallas, roughly a century ago. The first distinct tracks of a far larger dinosaur — the Sauroposeidon — were also found in the area, the outlet said, citing information from the park.
Dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas. The tracks resurfaced after a river dried up due to drought conditions.
Paul Baker, Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park
Secrets uncovered: Dwindling lakes and parched rivers across the American West are revealing all sorts of mysteries.
Old railroad tracks at Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell are now visible, not spotted since the 1960s.
At Lake Mead, the bodies are piling up. Since May five bodies have been found, including one stuffed in a barrel believed to be the victim of a mob killing.
A man with an environmental services group working to uncover the bodies told Newsweek there are likely many, many more bodies to be discovered.
Mysteries in the West: The worst drought to strike the American West in 12 centuries is taking its toll on water providers, farmers, ranchers and the more than 40 million people who depend on the Colorado River.
The 23-year drought has prompted the US Bureau of Reclamation to take drastic steps to shore up supplies by making first-ever cuts to water deliveries.
An announcement made this month by the bureau is intended to inform operations of the Colorado River system into 2023.
The bureau pulled 500,000 acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge in May and also shaved the Upper Colorado River Basin’s delivery to the lower basin states by a half-million acre-feet of water.
Dinosaur tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas. The tracks resurfaced after a river dried up due to drought conditions.
Paul Baker, Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park
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