The Dinosaur Dance Floor in Bolivia
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| The Dinosaur Dance Floor in Bolivia. The Dinosaur Dance Floor in Bolivia |
Bolivia has the largest collection of dinosaur tracks in the world comprising footprints of 294 different kinds of dinosaurs, which are nearly 70 million years old, from the Cretaceous era.
Astounded, so was I when I came across this news. The place where its located is Cal Orcko, in the colonial city of Sucre, southern Bolivia.
How were these tracks discovered? In 1994, while walking near a cement factory in Bolivia, Klaus Schutt saw a limestone wall, with a vertical area of about 25,000 square meters covered with a lots of dinosaur footprints.
This was followed by scientific research in 1998 by paleontologists led by Christian Meyer, and they concluded that there were more than 5000 impressions, making it the largest dinosaur track found so far. With so many footprints on it, scientists said that it looked more like a dinosaur dance floor.
How were these tracks discovered? In 1994, while walking near a cement factory in Bolivia, Klaus Schutt saw a limestone wall, with a vertical area of about 25,000 square meters covered with a lots of dinosaur footprints.
This was followed by scientific research in 1998 by paleontologists led by Christian Meyer, and they concluded that there were more than 5000 impressions, making it the largest dinosaur track found so far. With so many footprints on it, scientists said that it looked more like a dinosaur dance floor.
As you can see in the image below, the grey rock cliff is huge, its 325 feet tall at around 70-degree angle. Due to the movement of the tectonic plate the ancient lake bed was pushed vertically.
There are herbivore and carnivore tracks and the largest prints are more than three feet in length. The picture below is the longest trackway, stretching up to 347 meters, probably laid down by a baby Tyrannosaurus rex dubbed Johnny Walker by researchers. Other species identified include the three-horned triceratops, the carnivorous alosaurus and the titannosaurus.
To preserve this site, Cretaceous Park has been opened for tourists, with replicas of dinosaurs welcoming them, and a museum to give more information about prehistoric times.