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Dinosaur Valley State Park

Dinosaur Valley State Park is a state park in Texas near Glen Rose, Texas.

Contents

History

Dinosaur Valley State Park, located just northwest of Glen Rose in Somervell County, is a 1,524.72-acre (617 ha) scenic park set astride the Paluxy River. The land for the park was acquired from private owners under the State Parks Bonds Program during 1968 and opened to the public in 1972.[1] In addition to being a state park, it is also a National Natural Landmark.

Eastward-dipping limestones, sandstones, and mudstones of the Glen Rose Formation were deposited during the early Cretaceous Period approximately 113 million years ago along the shorelines of an ancient sea, form the geological setting for the park area. Over the last million years or so, these layered formations have been eroded, dissected and sculpted by the Paluxy River which, in many places, has cut down to resistant beds and planed off sizable exposures of rock in the river bottom.[1]

Controversy

Outside, but near the Dinosaur Valley State Park, in the limestone deposits along the Paluxy River "twin sets" tracks were found in the Glen Rose Formation as early as 1908. These footprints have been cited by young-Earth creationists as evidence against evolutionary theory,[2] as the idea that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time is contrary to the standard view of the geological time scale. This view is the basis for displays at the Creation Evidence Museum in nearby Glen Rose. However, as biologist Massimo Pigliucci noted, geologists in the 1980s "clearly demonstrated that no human being left those prints," but rather "they were in fact metatarsal dinosaur tracks, together with a few pure and simple fakes."[3]

The family of the original man, George Adams, who made the claims, later admitted it was a hoax.[4] "My grandfather was a very good sculptor," said Zana Douglas, from the Adams family who found many of Glen Rose’s real dinosaur tracks.[4] She explained that in the 1930s and the Depression, Glen Rose residents made money by making moonshine and selling dinosaur fossils.[4] The fossils brought $15 to $30 and when the supply ran low, George Adams, Zana's grandfather "just carved more, some with human footprints thrown in."[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Texas Parks and Wildlife: Dinosaur Valley State Park
  2. ^ John D. Morris The Pauluxy River Tracks, Institute for Creation Research, 2007
  3. ^ Massimo Pigliucci, Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science, (Sinauer, 2002, page 246): ISBN 0878936599
  4. ^ a b c d "Human footprints along with dinosaur tracks?". Star-Telegram. August 10, 2008. http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/820344.html. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
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Categories: Texas geography stubs | Fossil trackways in the United States | Texas state parks | Somervell County, Texas | National Natural Landmarks in Texas | IUCN Category III | IUCN Category IV | Natural history museums in Texas | Museums in Somervell County, Texas

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