A dry wash full of more than 200 dinosaur tracks, which include a dromaeosaurus and ankylosaurus, will open to the public this fall near Moab, Utah.
The 112-million-year-old dinosaur tracks were found in an area smaller than a football field from 10 different ancient species that lived during the early Cretaceous Period, said Utah Bureau of Land Management paleontologist ReBecca Hunt-Foster to the Associated Press.
The tracks were first discovered in 2009 by a local resident. Since then, paleontologists led by a team at the University of Colorado at Denver have analyzed them and prepared them for display.
The tracks also include a set of 17 consecutive footprints left by a Tyrannosaurus rex ancestor and the imprint of an ancient crocodile pushing off into the water. The imprint of the ancient croc reveals the chest, tail, body, and one foot, according to AP. Paleontologists believe it was made when the crocodile was pushing off a muddy bank into water.
The site has been recognized as one of the largest areas of dinosaur tracks from the early Cretaceous period known to exist in North America, Hunt-Foster said.
"We don't usually get this," said Hunt-Foster, according to the Associated Press. "It is a beautiful track site, one of the best ones I've ever seen."
There are also footprints from prehistoric birds, long-necked plant eaters, duckbilled dinosaurs, and a dromaeosaur similar to a velociraptor.
As more sediment built up, they became rock. They are also near a fault line, where the land has moved up and down over the years, according to Hunt-Foster. Over time, rains eroded away layers of the rock, and exposed footprints.
Once it opens this October, the site will have a trail leading people to the tracks with signs explaining what they are looking at exactly.
Officials are attempting to raise funds to provide shade and a 1-to-2 foot high boardwalk so people can look at the tracks without being tempted to touch anything, according to AP.
Paleontologist Martin Lockley of the University of Colorado at Denver has taken the lead in analyzing, cleaning and prepping the tracks for October.
"It's such an important site that they are coming here to study it," Hunt-Foster said.
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