The state’s extreme drought revealed ancient footprints believed to be from a sauropod.
Following severe drought conditions in Texas, one of the rivers in the Valley of the Dinosaurs State Park it was completely dry. This led to the discovery of the footprints of a dinosaur from 113 million years ago. Given the situation, the park authorities issued a statement:
“Most of the tracks that have been discovered recently and that have been discovered in different parts of the river in the park belong to Acrocanthosaurus. This was a dinosaur that, as an adult, was about 15 feet tall and (weighed) about seven tons,” park spokeswoman Stephanie Salinas Garcia told Reuters. CNN in an email.
The other species that left its mark on the large park was a Sauroposeidon, a reptile that was approximately 18 meters tall and weighed about 44 tons as an adult, García added.
The extreme drought this summer has already caused a river to dry up completely in most of its points. This left the footprints uncovered, revealing the last secret hidden under the water.
Last week, more than 60% of the state of Texas experienced two of the most intense categories. According to the US Drought Monitorthe state has also recently experienced heat waves that pushed temperatures to exceed 100°F, leaving millions under excessive heat alerts.
The climate crisis caused by global warming has also increased the possibility that these drastic changes will happen more frequently, mainly in periods of drought and high rainfall, such as the floods in the Dallas area.
Under normal weather conditions, the dinosaur footprints found in the river bed are underwater and full of sediment, which makes them less visible, “Being able to find these discoveries and meet new dinosaur footprints is always an exciting time in the park Garcia added.
At the moment it is hoped that the tracks will be hidden again after the expected rains, as it will help the tracks to protect themselves naturally from erosion.
“Although these new dinosaur tracks were visible for a short time, they provoked the amazement and excitement of finding new dinosaur tracks in the park,” Garcia said. “Dinosaur Valley State Park will continue to protect these 113-million-year-old footprints not only for present generations, but for future ones as well.”
The footprints are just the latest discovery brought about by a drop in water levels due to drought, both in the United States and abroad: In recent months, five sets of human remains in Lake Mead, in Utah, as the reservoir has dropped to 27% of its full capacity.