- Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum
-
Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum
Interior detail
Eubrontes prints
Close-up of Eubrontes printsDinosaur State Park and Arboretum is a unique 63-acre (250,000 m2) state park located 20 minutes south of Hartford at 400 West Street, Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA. It contains one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America, with early Jurassic fossil tracks in sandstone from about 200 million years ago.
Contents
History
The Connecticut Valley has extensive fossil discoveries. Some of these fossils date to the Jurassic Period. Many specimens uncovered in brownstone quarries during the 1800s are included into the collections of museums throughout the world. History was made 1966 when hundreds of dinosaur tracks were exposed in Rocky Hill.[1] The dinosaur tracks in Rocky Hill were discovered by a bulldozer operator who was excavating for a new state building. The site became Dinosaur State Park, which became a Registered National Landmark in 1968.[2]
Dinosaur tracks
Dinosaur State Park is one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. The tracks are from the early Jurassic period and were made over 200 million years ago by a carnivorous dinosaur similar to Dilophosaurus. At present 500 tracks are enclosed within a 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) geodesic dome; the remaining 1,500 are buried for preservation. The park's in-site tracks are Eubrontes, named by Prof. Edward Hitchcock, pioneering student of fossilized tracks and one of America's first geologists. The tracks range from 10 to 16 inches (410 mm) in length and are spaced 3.5 to 4.5 feet (1.4 m) apart. The exhibit center also includes rock slabs with other Connecticut Valley fossil tracks, including large four-toed Otozoum tracks with clearly visible skin impressions.[3]
In addition to the tracks, the dome houses life-sized dioramas depicting the Triassic and Jurassic periods, complete with common plants and creatures, and including the aforementioned Dilophosaurus. There are also several interactive displays, a reconstruction of a geologic foundation, highlights of the tracks’ discovery, as well as a discovery room with several lizards, some Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dinosaur arts and crafts.
Arboretum
The arboretum's goal is to grow representatives of as many Mesozoic Era plant families as possible on the site. It currently contains more than two miles (3 km) of nature trails with more than 250 species and cultivars of conifers, plus collections of arborvitae, chamaecyparis, ginkgo, juniper, Katsura, pine, and magnolia. Some rarer species in the arboretum's collection include the evergreen Southern Magnolia and the Monkey Puzzle. Recent plantings have focused on woody plants from the Cretaceous angiosperm families.[4]
Events and Activities
Dinosaur State Park Day is usually held each year in August, has had almost 2,000 visitors come to the state park and participate in games, experiment with arts and crafts and listen to live music, while also being able visit the indoor and outdoor features of the park. Events and prizes are funded by The Friends of Dinosaur Park and Arboretum, Inc.(FDPA), as well as 25 other sponsors, such as, Subway (restaurant), Starbucks and Big Y.[5]
The arboretum has an auditorium that shows educational films on the weekends that rotate accordingly. During warmer months, visitors can create their own track casts in the track casting area.
Some other activities include educational programs that are centered around including guided trail walks, lectures, films and more.
Park Hours and Admission
The park grounds are open daily 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (trails close at 4:00 p.m.). The exhibit center is open 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday thru Sunday—closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The cost is $5 for adults and teens (13 and over); $2 for youths (ages 6-12); and free for children five and under.[6]
See also
- Connecticut River Valley trackways
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
References
- ^ "Dinosaur State Park". ct.gov. http://dep.state.ct.us/STATEPARKS/parks/dinosaur.htm.
- ^ "Local Landmark: Dinosaur State Park". http://hartford.about.com/cs/attractions/a/aadinopark.htm.
- ^ "Dinosaur State Park". http://www.dinosaurstatepark.org/.
- ^ "The Dinosaur State Park Arboretum". http://www.dinosaurstatepark.org/arboretum.htm.
- ^ "Dinosaur State Park Day". http://www.dinosaurstatepark.org/page26.html.
- ^ "About.com, Walk with the Dinosaurs". http://gonewengland.about.com/od/ctforfamilies/a/aadinopark.htm.
External links
- State Parks and Forests - Dinosaur State Park
- Dinosaur State Park Website
- Dinosaur State Park Arboretum Information Page
Coordinates: 41°39′7″N 72°39′25″W / 41.65194°N 72.65694°W
Protected areas of Connecticut National Park Service National Wildlife Refuges Silvio O. Conte • Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge
National Trails State Parks Airline • Beckley Iron Furnace Industrial Monument • Bigelow Hollow • Black Rock • Bluff Point • Burr Pond • Camp Columbia • Campbell Falls • Chatfield Hollow • Collis P. Huntington • Connecticut Valley Railroad • Day Pond • Dennis Hill • Devil's Hopyard • Dinosaur • Fort Griswold Battlefield • Fort Trumbull • Gardner Lake • Gay City • George W. Seymour • Gillette Castle • Haddam Meadows • Haley Farm • Hammonasset Beach • Hampton Beach • Harkness Memorial • Haystack Mountain • Hop River State Park Trail • Hopeville Pond • Housatonic Meadows • Hurd • Indian Well • John A. Minetto • Kent Falls • Kettletown • Lake Waramaug • Larkin State Park Trail • Levy • Lovers Leap • Macedonia Brook • Mansfield Hollow • Mashamoquet Brook • Millers Pond • Mohawk Mountain • Moosup Valley State Park Trail • Mount Tom • Old Furnace • Osbornedale • Penwood • Putnam Memorial • Quaddick • Quinnipiac River • River Highlands • Rocky Neck • Selden Neck • Seth Low Pierrepont • Sherwood Island • Silver Sands • Sleeping Giant • Southford Falls • Squantz Pond • Stratton Brook • Talcott Mountain • Wadsworth Falls • West Rock Ridge • Wharton Brook • Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail
State Forests Algonquin • American Legion • Centennial Watershed • Cockaponset • Enders • James L. Goodwin • Housatonic • Massacoe • Mattatuck • Meshomasic • Mohawk • Mohegan • Nassahegon • Natchaug • Nathan Hale • Nehantic • Nepaug • Nipmuck • Nye-Holman • Pachaug • Paugnut • People's • Pootatuck • Quaddick • Salmon River • Shenipsit • Topsmead • Tunxis • Wyantenock
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (web)Categories:- Arboreta in Connecticut
- Botanical gardens in Connecticut
- Connecticut state parks
- Dinosaur trace fossils
- Fossil trackways in the United States
- Jurassic paleontological sites of North America
- Natural history of Connecticut
- National Natural Landmarks in Connecticut
- Natural history museums in Connecticut
- Dinosaur museums in the United States
- Museums in Hartford County, Connecticut
- Parks in Hartford County, Connecticut
- Rocky Hill, Connecticut
- Protected areas established in 1968
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
