Dinosaur Graveyard
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 41° 51.900 W 106° 04.373
13T E 410958 N 4635343
This Wyoming Historical Marker is the second of two at the same location on the north side of US Highway 30/287 at Como Bluffs between Medicine Bow and Rock River.
Waymark Code: WMFB70
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 09/23/2012
Views: 8
Dinosaur Graveyard
To the north lies Como Bluff – “The Dinosaur Graveyard” – one of the greatest and well known fossil beds of dinosaur remains in the world. There paleontologists of the 19th century discovered and unearthed many excellent fossil specimens of the world’s largest land creatures.
Crews working for paleontologists at Yale University and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences found a multitude of dinosaur and other prehistoric animal remains in the late 1870s and 1880s, making Como Bluff the site of one of the most important discoveries of Jurassic fossils in the world. Dinosaur fossils from this region, including the now familiar Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Apatosaurus (aka. Brontosaurus), did more than any other discoveries to make the public conscious of dinosaurs. Fierce competition ensued between paleontologists and academic institutions resulting in what is now known as the “Dinosaur Wars.” In the late 1800s, hundreds of bones of dinosaurs and many other Jurassic animals, including some of the earliest known mammals were unearthed and shipped from this area. They now reside in such institutions as the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the American Museum of Natural History. Fossil Cabin was constructed as a tourist attraction during the Lincoln Highway era.
Como Bluff and Fossil Cabin are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Como Bluff is primarily on private land. Trespassing is not allowed.