The Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation
is pleased to announce that a second dinosaur footprint field
site is
open
to visitors.
Museum members have teamed up with Tumbler Ridge’s
outdoor group, the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society,
to build a hiking trail that will make the site, on a canyon
floor, more accessible.
Palaeontologist Rich McCrea discovered the site in 2001 and
scientific work that proceeded through the summer of 2002 has
now been completed.
Both theropods and ornithopods are represented in a few dozen
footprints, most of which are shallow, and cannot be seen easily
in the harsh sunlight. For this reason they are best viewed
at night with lantern light, which can be controlled and used
at
a low angle, making the rock appear to come alive with footprints
and creating a surreal experience, further enhanced by the
rushing waters of the river beside the tracks. Tumbler Ridge
is apparently
the only site in the world where such lantern tours can be
enjoyed.
Interesting features include short trackways, rare ornithopod
skin impressions, and a theropod print, from which exact
replicas have been made and will be on sale to the public as
a museum
fundraiser. Because of the sensitive nature of the site,
unescorted visits are discouraged.
In 2002 the Flatbed dinosaur footprint site was opened, on
completion of research there. It contains over a hundred
footprints, a few
of which are exceptionally deep and well preserved. The
two sites are significantly different, and field trips to these
sites are
scheduled as part of the week long Dino Camps, which are
to be delivered this summer in conjunction with the Northern
Lights
College. Led by palaeontology student Marisa Gilbert, these
will
be the first such camps ever held in BC.
For the 2003 season, lantern tours will be offered by a
private local ecotourism co-operative, which will be
donating a portion
of its proceeds to the Tumbler Ridge Museum foundation.
For further details on tours, contact the Tumbler Ridge
Visitor
Information
Centre at 242-3123. For information on Dino Camps call
242-5591.
