Rock of Ages Dino Bones

We found some really cool dinosaur bones last month when we did Rock of Ages. I forgot all about them until a friend posted this picture on Facebook. It looked like a lot of the dino was present. Brian in SLC first noticed what looks to be the backbone, and a little more exploring produced more bones. Every person that has done ROA's has walked right over the top of these bones as they are located on the exit trail after that last rappel, just past where you stop to view the Anasazi ruin across the drainage. I didn't have my camera with me at the time so this is the only picture I have. This is the second dino that we have discovered while canyoneering, the first was in Eardley Canyon about 2/3's of the way down the death gulley. We also found a dino trackway in the east fork of Leprechaun Canyon.

Anyhoo.... I thought ya'll might be interested.... enjoy...

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the first was in Eardley Canyon about 2/3's of the way down the death gulley.

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You should try contacting (I think you already contacted the BLM?) a paleontologist about this one. As far as is known, I believe that the rocks in that part of Eardley Canyon should be older than the dinosaurs. If it really is a dinosaur skeleton, it would be an incredible find and would change the entire geologic/paleontologic timeline.

Even the youngest rocks (which would be on the rim) in that part of Eardley Canyon are 14-55 million years older than the oldest dinosaur ever discovered (which was discovered in South America). If there really is a dinosaur skeleton in that part of Eardley Canyon, it might be considered to be the find of the century.

I called the BLM on the Eardley dinosaur and their response was "there are lots of dinosaur bones in the Swell and we don't have the resources to document them all."

The dino bones in Eardley are really cool as there are giant palm tree branch type fossils nearby. The leif fossils are 3' or larger in size.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

Possibly one of the creatures in the below pictures, which have been found in the same region/rock layers and pre-date the dinosaurs:

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http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/gui...0099_p0105.pdf

:2thumbs:

FWIW: Everyone/everything older than my dad is a dinosaur to me. :lol8:

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Originally Posted by Scott P

Possibly one of the creatures in the below pictures, which have been found in the same region/rock layers and pre-date the dinosaurs:

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http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/gui...0099_p0105.pdf

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So the creatures in the graphic you posted aren't dinos? :ne_nau:

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So the creatures in the graphic you posted aren't dinos?

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No. I wouldn't have known the names of those creatures off the top of my head, but I did know that the Cedar Mesa Sandstone and any rocks older than it are older than any dinosaurs, so I looked up what fossils are in the Permian rock layers of Utah and those came up.

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Most of the Dinosaur bones in Utah region are in the Morrison Formation (Moab, Cleveland Loyd, Fruita, Grand Junction, Dinosaur National Monument, etc.), though most tracks (that I know of) seem to be in the Kayenta Formation. That does bring up another point though. The bone in that photo would have to be in the bottom of the Navajo or the top of the Kayenta Formation. Since I haven't heard of any bones in the Kayenta Formation, only tracks (Moab, Horseshoe Canyon, North Wash, Subway, etc.), I just looked it up. Apparently no bones of Dinosaurs have been found on the Utah side of the Kayenta. There are many dinosaur bones around Moab, but they are in the Morrison Formation. There wouldn't be any Morrison Formation in the lower Rock of Ages canyon as it is much newer than the Navajo Sandstone, which is the youngest rock layer on that route. In fact the Morrison is newer than the even Entrada.

Locations for each formation randomly chosen from regional well known landmarks off the top of my head (meaning there might be better examples):

Going up from the Kayenta (bottom of the Rock of Ages route), the rock layers go > Navajo (where most of the Rock of Ages route is located) > Page (sometimes) > Carmel (cap rock of some of the Navajo SS buttes in the area) > Entrada (Arches in Arches NP, Monitor/Merrimac Buttes, for example) > Curtis (capping the Entrada Buttes and the ligher colored highest rock in Goblin Valley) > Summerville (rock that looks like a layer cake, such as on Wildhorse Butte) > Morrison (variety of rocks including some hard rocks forming some steep cliffs and many multi colored slopes, such as the badlands along Highway 191 where the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail is).

The rocks in lower Rock of Ages route are actually six or seven rock layers below where the Dinosaur bones in the area are known to be located. Dinosaurs certainly existed when the Kayenta formation was being deposited (If I remember right, the dinosaur tracks along the Colorado River across from the Rock of Ages route are in the Kayenta), but on the Utah side at least no large bones have been found.

Although the Kayenta hasn't yieded any bones, the bottom of the Navajo SS has had a recent dinosaur discovery:

http://unews.utah.edu/news_releases/...39s-red-rocks/

First I've heard of in the Navajo Sandstone (it was from a vast desert). Cool stuff.

Since it was in the bottom of Rock of Ages route, I assumed the photo was the Kayenta (I bypassed the route the rest of the group took when they took that photo), but maybe it was in the bottom of the Navajo. Now that I look at it, it does look more like Navajo. Shane, do you remember if the rock was Navajo or Kayenta?

If that really is a large bone in the Kayenta or Navajo, it would be a rare find (are you guys sure that it was a bone?).

PS, any photos of the bones in Eardley? It would be cool to show them to a paleontologist.

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Originally Posted by Scott P

If that really is a large bone in the Kayenta or Navajo, it would be a rare find (are you guys sure that it was a bone?).

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Ya, that was my question as well. Sometimes embedded rocks, gravel or logs can appear to be a fossil upon initial inspection. Legitimate bones are very rare. I'd like to see additional photos as well.

I'm pretty sure what we found was a backbone as you could see the vertre. The bones are located where two sandstone layers meet. The top layer being Navajo.

I'm not a dino expert so anything is possible.... I consider myself knowledgeable on the subject, but certainly no expert. The bones do look just like the ones a few miles away in Mill Creek, which I know are real.

Brian might have more/better pictures.

Shane, are the fossils in Eardley Canyon easy to find? I'd sure like to check them out, especially with a paleontologist. I'd like to see the giant ferns as well.

Also, is anyone else interested in checking them out?

Thr plant fossils in Eardley are easy to find. They are about 2/3 of the way down the steep entrance gulley listed on my route description. There were a lot of them. As you are scrambling down they will be to your north about 50 from the fall line. Some were in a short cliff. The dino is next to the cliff.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

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Thr plant fossils in Eardley are easy to find. They are about 2/3 of the way down the steep entrance gulley listed on my route description. There were a lot of them. As you are scrambling down they will be to your north about 50 from the fall line. Some were in a short cliff. The dino is next to the cliff.

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Thanks!:2thumbs:

So now there is a reason to do that hell forsaken route again.:bootyshake::bootyshake:

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Originally Posted by Iceaxe

Brian might have more/better pictures.

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I didn't take as many as I should have...dang it. Here's one, with at least one dinosaur visible...ha ha...

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Originally Posted by Brian in SLC

Here's one, with at least one dinosaur visible...ha ha...

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:lol8: :lol8: :lol8:

That horizontal fat piece of intrusion staight to the left of your knees...really does look like fat vertibrae up close.