G.A.S.P.

The best known part of Dinosaur National Monument is its fossil quarry. It was there that a paleontologist from the Carnegie Museum first discovered the tail bones of a Brontosaurus sticking out of the hillside in 1909. For the next several years, numerous nearly complete skeletons were removed and sent to museums all over the world. In 1915, President Wilson designated the area as a National Monument, thereby preserving it for future generations. The quarry is now enclosed in a fine-looking building and the bones that have been (and still are being) uncovered are for the most part simply left in place. The wall of bones is nearly vertical, but 145 million years ago it was sandbar in a stream. Paleontologists believe that a flood probably drowned and washed downstream many dinosaurs to this point where they piled up on the sandbar. Some skeletons were then scattered by scavengers, while others were covered quickly and remained intact. Most of the dinosaurs found here are Sauropods (vegetarians) such as Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus), Diplodocus, Barosaurus and Stegosaurus. The photo of the small dinosaur skeleton in the case is a 99 per cent complete juvenile Camarasaurus. There have been some Theropod (carnivorous) bones found as well, including those of Allosaurous the biggest bully of the day.

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