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Tracking the Movie Stars of Paleontology

ByTHE CURIOUS WEST

Foot Prints at Red Fleet State Park

Nestled in the high desert of northeastern Utah, Red Fleet State Park is often called a “land before time.” While the turquoise waters of the reservoir are a major draw for boaters and swimmers, the real stars of the park are frozen in the deep red Navajo Sandstone: hundreds of preserved dinosaur tracks.

If you’re planning a hike to the track-site, here is the backstory on these prehistoric impressions and the “Hollywood royalty” that likely made them.Fossilized tracks in the Navajo Sandstone, AI generated

Fossilized tracks in the Navajo Sandstone. Source: Scott Smith / Getty Images

The tracks at Red Fleet weren’t made by a T. rex or a Triceratops. The most prominent footprints were left by Dilophosaurus-like theropods, and are some of the oldest discovered prints in Utah. These prints date to nearly 200 million years ago, but their creators were embedded in modern culture when they were featured in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park.

Who could forget the scene-stealing, frill-flaring, venom-spitting dinosaur that attacked Dennis Nedry in the rainstorm?

While we can’t overlook their movie-star status, it’s worth noting that Hollywood took some serious creative liberties! Real Dilophosaurus didn’t have neck frills, and there’s zero evidence they spat venom. But they didn’t need those parlor tricks to be terrifying.

The real animals were much larger than their on-screen counterparts—standing 8 to 10 feet tall, stretching 20 feet long, and acting as the fast, agile apex predators of their shoreline home. The tracks they left behind clearly show three prominent toes tipped with sharp claw marks.

Two faces of the Dilophosaurus: Hollywood version compared to the scientifically established version

Source: https://www.pgi.gov.pl/muzeum/

The Evidence

How do we know these tracks were left by our movie star dinos? We don’t for absolute certainty, but paleontologists have developed forensic techniques to determine the highest level of likelihood.

  • Most tracks are attributed to the ichnogenus (a name for a footprint type) Eubrontes.
    • Ichnogenus (plural: ichnogenera) is a scientific name assigned to a “trace fossil” rather than the physical remains of an animal itself.
      • The word comes from the Greek ichnos (meaning “trace” or “track”) and genus (meaning “family” or “class”).
    • Eubrontes (pronounced yoo-BRON-teez) is the name given to a very distinct type of large, three-toed dinosaur footprint found all over the world, including at Red Fleet State Park.
      • The name translates from Greek to mean “true thunder,” which is a fitting title for the heavy-footed predators that left them behind.

To stand next to one of these giants, visit the Museum of Northern Arizona where a full-sized cast skeleton of Dilophosaurus wetherilli is on display

Visit Museum’s Website

The Perfect Recipe for Fossilization

How does a footprint in the sand survive for 200 million years? It requires a very specific set of “Goldilocks” conditions to align perfectly. At this point in Earth’s history, the supercontinent Pangea was just beginning to break apart. The Utah landscape was vastly different than it is today—instead of a rugged, rocky desert, it was a massive coastal dune field, occasionally interrupted by wet environments. These conditions helped create the perfect stage for these prints to star in the fossil record today.

  1. The “Right” Mud: The dinosaurs were walking along the edge of a playa lake or a tidal flat. The sediment was moist enough to take an impression (like wet concrete) but firm enough not to collapse immediately after the dinosaur lifted its foot.
  2. Rapid Burial: Shortly after the tracks were made, they were gently covered by a fresh layer of sediment—perhaps from a rising tide or a sandstorm. This protected the tracks from being erased by wind or water.
  3. Lithification: Over millions of years, the weight of accumulating layers of earth above squeezed the moisture out, cementing the mud and sand into solid stone (what we now call the Navajo Sandstone).
  4. The Great Reveal: Eventually, tectonic forces uplifted the Colorado Plateau. Modern erosion from wind and rain slowly stripped away the top layers of rock, “exhuming” the tracks and leaving them exposed for us to hike to today.

Tips for Your Visit

Look for the “Oasis”: The 1.5-mile hike out to the tracks takes you through stunning juniper forests and sweeping red rock formations—keep your eyes peeled for smaller, harder-to-spot tracks along the way!

The Best Light: The tracks can be incredibly hard to spot when the harsh midday sun is directly overhead. Visit during the early morning or late afternoon; the long, dramatic shadows make the 3D relief of the footprints pop.

Stay on the Trail: The sandstone is fragile, and the tracks are actively weathering. To preserve these 200-million-year-old treasures for future visitors, avoid stepping directly inside the footprints.

Further reading / Sources:

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