Dinosaur Provincial Park

Long ago, rivers dropped sand and mud here, layer by layer. Dinosaur bones were buried in the mud.

After the ice age, melting ice made water that carved the land. It uncovered the old layers.

About 75 million years ago, Parks Canada explains, this part of Alberta was a low coastal plain at the edge of a shallow sea, with a warm climate like northern Florida's today. When animals died, some lay in river channels and mud flats, and new layers of sand and mud buried their bones. Over time, pressure, lack of oxygen and minerals turned them into fossils.

At the end of the last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, huge amounts of meltwater carved into the soft sandstone and mudstone, uncovering the fossil layers and making the Red Deer River valley.

Parks Canada: about 75 million years ago eastern Alberta was a low coastal plain at the edge of a shallow sea, with a subtropical climate; carcasses in river channels and mudflats were buried by new sand and mud, and pressure, lack of oxygen and mineral deposition produced fossils. The Canadian Encyclopedia: the sandstone and mudstone layers were deposited by rivers almost 75 million years ago and carried toward the Western Interior Seaway.

At the end of the last ice age, 13,000 years ago, glacial ice scraped off upper layers and meltwater cut into the soft strata, exposing the fossil beds and forming the Red Deer River valley; erosion since then formed the hoodoos and gullies. UNESCO calls the park an outstanding example of fluvial erosion in semi-arid steppes.

Many kinds of dinosaurs lived here long ago. Fish, birds and early mammals lived here too.

Today, plants grow along the river. Some cactus grows here too.

UNESCO says the park's fossils include every known group of dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period. Many skeletons are complete, and more than 150 of them are now in more than 30 major museums. Fossils of other animals and plants from that time are found here too, so scientists can study a whole ancient ecosystem.

Today, the park has badlands and prairie. Its plants are sparse and desert-like, including cactus, while the land along the river is high-quality habitat, UNESCO says.

UNESCO: specimens representing every known group of Cretaceous dinosaurs; over 350 articulated specimens from the Oldman and Dinosaur Park formations, including more than 150 complete skeletons, now in more than 30 major museums; a complete assemblage of non-dinosaurian fossils for studying the Late Cretaceous paleo-ecosystem. Parks Canada lists fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, primitive mammals and about 35 dinosaur species on that ancient plain (UNESCO's brief description also says about 35; its statement of value says more than 44).

Today the park pairs badlands with prairie (Canadian Encyclopedia: sparse, desert-like vegetation, e.g. cactus) and 26 km of high-quality, virtually undisturbed riparian habitat (UNESCO; Parks Canada's text says 24 km).

Scientists have dug up hundreds of dinosaur skeletons here.

Many are now in museums around the world.

Parks Canada says more than 300 high-quality dinosaur skeletons have come from a 27-kilometer stretch along the Red Deer River since digging began in the 1880s. Since 1985, the biggest collection from the park has been kept at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller.

The Canadian Encyclopedia says each layer of rock holds the fossil plants and animals of its own time, so scientists can see a detailed chapter of Earth's history.

Parks Canada: more than 300 first-quality dinosaur skeletons from a 27 km stretch of the Red Deer River since the 1880s; dozens in museums in 30 cities; since 1985 the largest collection is in the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller. It says the badlands contain the greatest concentration of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils yet found on Earth.

The Canadian Encyclopedia (Currie): the park is the primary fossil site for the more than 100 dinosaur species found in Canada, and no other area of comparable size has produced such a diverse record of dinosaurs and their contemporaries. UNESCO notes the diversity allows comparative and chronological paleontology.

Some parts of the park can only be visited on a guided tour.

In hot weather, wear a wide hat and rest in the shade.

UNESCO says public access to the most sensitive parts of the park is strictly controlled, and collecting fossils is tightly regulated. The Canadian Encyclopedia says bus tours and hikes run in summer and some areas are restricted.

In hot weather, the CDC suggests light, loose, light-colored clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, drinking during exercise and avoiding hard activity in the hottest part of the day.

UNESCO: a zoning system restricts unguided public access to the most sensitive areas; research, collection and removal of fossils are tightly regulated, and illegal removal of fossils is among the factors monitored, with tourism, grazing and climate change. The Canadian Encyclopedia: summer bus tours and hikes; certain areas restricted; Royal Tyrrell Museum field-station exhibits open year-round.

CDC Yellow Book (heat): lightweight, loose, light-colored clothing; a wide-brimmed hat markedly reduces radiant heat; drink during exertion; avoid strenuous activity in the hottest part of the day.