Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways
The Dinosaur Stampede National Monument ( German National Monument a Dinosaur Stampede ), also known as Lark Quarry (German Lark Quarry ), is located in 374 acres of Lark Quarry Conservation Park, 110 km south-west of Winton in western Queensland in Australia.
In this quarry are the only known traces a stampede of dinosaurs.
Event
Originally it was assumed that a group of possibly 180 chickens Coelurosauria Skartopus large and bantam - up emugroßen Wintonopus, fell by the arrival of a single very large carnivorous Theropodenen, a Tyrannosaurus in panic. The big dinosaur was about 10 m long, leaving about 50 cm large footprints. It is believed that the two-legged carnivorous Skartopus and Wintonopus were startled by the Tyrannosauropus while thousands of footprints left in the then existing watts. Investigations of the University of Queensland, however, showed that the major tracks do not belong to a Therapoden, but possible, to a large herbivorous Muttaburrasaurus.
Not long after this incident, about 95 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period, the water rose up, covered the traces with sandy sediments before the mud dried up. The footprints were covered with sand and mud over time, as the rivers and lakes rose or fell in the area. Over long periods, the river level was filled with sand and swamps of low vegetation covered, until it finally dried up and the sediments with the fossilized footprints.
Discovery
The dinosaur tracks were discovered in the 1960s by the manager of the nearby Seymour quarry. Paleontologists of the Queensland Museum and the University of Queensland laid the tracks in the years 1976 to 1977 free ( the quarry is named after Malcolm Lark, a volunteer, the great masses of rock auflagernden remote ). In total, more than 60 tons of rock were removed over an area of about 210 m², on which there are about 3,300 dinosaur tracks.
The first shelter was created in 2002 to reveal the traces not of weathering. It protects the main part of the prints from being damaged by temperature and humidity changes, keeps from running water, people and wildlife.
The Dinosaur Stampede National Monument was added to the Australian National Heritage List because of their special value and their rarity on July 20, 2004.
Tourist information
The monument is indeed with normal vehicles on unpaved roads accessible on the Winton from beginning Lark Quarry Dinosaur track, but the use of a four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended. Camping is not allowed in the park and now there are no accommodations available. There are also tourist organized trips there.
In the shelter building, visitors can view the exposed traces of a gallery, which are illuminated by a light that is generated from solar energy.