Dinosaur Quarry ~ Dinosaur National Monument

No tour of Dinosaur National Monument would be complete without taking the time to visit the world famous Dinosaur Quarry! This National Monument covers a vast rugged wilderness in two states and both the Green River and Yampa River meander through this majestic landscape. The river rafting and back country adventures are so thrilling, that it actually is easy to forget the namesake theme while there. This end of Utah certainly was the modern equivalent of Jurassic Park way back in the prehistoric ages and all it takes is one look at the Dinosaur Quarry to confirm this thought!

The Dinosaur Quarry is a highly protected area with limited visitation hours and this destination can only be accessed by taking a ride on a tram. The tram runs uphill through the geological reef upheaval area where portions of displaced ancient bedrock are tilted vertical, just like a wall. Fossils were discovered on one such vertical shelf and shortly after the excavation began this site became world famous for being one of the most important discoveries on earth. Thousand upon thousands of fossilized dinosaur bones were uncovered and many were of previously unknown species.

Eventually some of the Dinosaur Quarry fossils were carefully removed from their resting place and reassembled in museums around the globe. Because the wall of dinosaur fossils was such a unique discovery, a decision was made to leave a large portion intact, which is now housed inside the Quarry Exhibit Hall that was built around the site. The dinosaur fossil wall is so tall that a second story was added to the floor plan so visitors can see it all.

Upon first glance, the Dinosaur Quarry exhibit is guaranteed to be an awe filled jaw dropping experience, so be prepared to stop and stare for a while! One magnificent dinosaur fossil after another can be seen and there are a few complete skeletons to gaze upon in the mix. Bones from some of the oddest creatures that ever roamed this neck of the woods are on display too and the benches in the viewing area actually are gigantic dinosaur leg bones. A fully assembled flesh eating dinosaur skeleton is on display too, which will thoroughly entertain the Hollywood movie fans in the crowd.

Dinosaur Quarry definitely is a great learning experience for visitors of all ages and ranger narrated group tours are available. As far as museum dinosaur displays are concerned, Dinosaur Quarry is definitely one of the best and this end of Utah actually is where many other museums worldwide acquired their exhibits. Fortunately, the gigantic flesh eating dinosaurs no longer roam in this territory or a back country hike would be far more than just an ordinary adventure. With this in mind, only time separates the ancient dinosaurs from the modern age and the Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall is definitely is the Jurassic time travel portal to look for!