Remedial Paleo Course in Denali National Park

[AK hiker]

 

 

I was able to get into the Alaska Geographic field course, Paleontology in Denali with a short notice cancelation this month. I had done this course two years ago and throughly enjoyed the experience. During he first evening introductions I mentioned I had attended 2 years ago and immediately was teased that I had failed the last time and was back again, LOL. 

 

 

 

Dr. Pat Druckenmiller, the director of The Museum of the North was the instructor again and was most knowledgeable giving a background lecture of the areas geology and how the dinosaur tracks could have formed. He is holding a likely front foot track from a hadrosaur.

 

 

 

 

Possible pterosaur track.

 

 

 

 

Hadrosaur track.

 

Same track with boot for scale.

Ceratopsian likely hind foot track.

Another likely track. 

 

 

Some of the attendees looking at another hadrosaur track.

 

 

One of the first group of tracks identified in the park was named the Dinosaur Dance Floor pictured here,

 

 

Closer look at the tracks in situ.

 

 

 

 

Making a peal of the possible pterosaur track.

 

 

 

Fossilized wood.

 

 

 

 

Metasequoia leaf impression and fossil wood.

 

 

 

The snow was late leaving this year with the wild flowers just starting to bloom.

 

 

 

We saw two family groups of bears on the trip from the best possible location, sitting in the van while driving the road. This is all that is left of a moose calf after it became a bear snack. It is a hungry world up here.

 

 

 

 

A winter killed Dall sheep skull. I aged the ram at 11 years old which is about as long as they live.

 

 

 

A brown bear was digging up ground squirrels here and farther up the valley we explored.

 

 

 

 

A view from the second day hike with snow still present. BTW I passed the course this year by finding a nice pair of Dino tracks:)

 

 

 

 

[patelinho7]

Those are some nice robust tracks! I had no clue Denali had tracks like that. And I’ve never seen a hadrosaur front foot print! Cool stuff 

[Ludwigia]

Thanks for the great photo report. Finding fossils way up in the mountains certainly does give one a good feel for the extraordinary age of these things.

[Yoda]

@AK hiker

 

Looks like a good trip. 

 

Are you allowed to collect / keep your finds ?? 

[Fossildude19]

20 minutes ago, Yoda said:

@AK hiker

 

Looks like a good trip. 

 

Are you allowed to collect / keep your finds ?? 

 

 

Seeing as it is a National Park, the likely answer is no.

[Troodon]

Very cool, was only aware of the Dino sites in the north slope.  Cool

[AK hiker]

10 hours ago, patelinho7 said:

Those are some nice robust tracks! I had no clue Denali had tracks like that. And I’ve never seen a hadrosaur front foot print! Cool stuff 

The park is one of the most numerous sites in North America for dinosaur tracks.  The photos of tracks are of natural casts in which the true track was filled by sand and then when exposed the silt stone eroded away leaving the more resilient sand stone as a cast of the track.

7 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Thanks for the great photo report. Finding fossils way up in the mountains certainly does give one a good feel for the extraordinary age of these things.

So true. The Cantwell formation there aged at 70 million years 

1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

 

Seeing as it is a National Park, the likely answer is no.

Correct. The park is very protective of the tracks and will not tell you where they are and there are some major sites there.

59 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Very cool, was only aware of the Dino sites in the north slope.  Cool

There are dinosaur tracks through out the state. I have seen them on the Alaska Penninsula and reported in several other locations. Alaska is now just being explored and much to learn.