While it is easy to imagine dinosaurs roaming around the hoodoos and sandhills of modern Dinosaur Provincial Park, the “badlands” are a relatively new look for Alberta. Around 75 million years ago when the sediment of Dinosaur Provincial Park was being deposited, and when dinosaurs were inhabiting this area, North America, and the world, looked quite a bit different. Due to the warmer global temperatures and lack of polar ice caps, and different patterns of uplift happening to the West, North America was divided north to south by the Western Interior Seaway, or Bear Paw Sea. Alberta was half underwater, and half “beachfront property”. The dinosaurs, of course, were terrestrial, and roamed the shores of the seaway, where lush rainforest vegetation grew.
Today, as ocean temperatures increase, we are seeing an increase in the number of tropical storms. In the late Cretaceous period, the warmer global temperature also caused an increased number of tropical storms, especially on warm, shallow seas, like the Bear Paw Sea. This allowed for large storm surges to regularly deposit deep sediments onto the shore – which is now Dinosaur Provincial Park! This allowed for abundant death and subsequent fossilization of resident dinosaurs, but also created the sandy sediments (sandstone) that make up the park today. Because of the porosity and weak structure of sandstone, it is easily eroded. We estimate around two Centimeters of sediment are eroded each year! This allows for the formation of unique structures, such as hoodoos, spires, piping channels, caves and rills.
Take a moment to look around this area. To earn this cache, please answer the following questions: 1. Approximately how old is the ground you are standing on? 2. What do you think Dinosaur Provincial Park will look like in 100 years? 3. How do you think erosion began in Dinosaur Provincial Park? Why does it look different than the area surrounding the park?
Some things to remember while exploring: Dinosaur Provincial Park is home to Prairie Rattlesnakes. These snakes are venomous, but if you avoid long grass and listen for their rattling warning, you are likely to avoid an encounter. There are also Black Widow spiders and Northern Scorpions which call Dinosaur Provincial Park their home. Avoid placing your hands or feet anywhere your eyes haven't been, and you probably won't even see these critters! Finally, after rainfall, the mudstone and sandstone can become very slippery. Searching for earthcaches among the hills should be reserved for dry days.
Please remember that you are in a provincial park, and as such, it is your responsibility to ensure you are respecting the natural environment. You can do this by making sure you stay on the designated trails and avoid disturbing plants and animals found here. Additionally, if you find any fossils while in the park, please remember it is against the law to remove or disturb them.
Good luck, and have fun!