KANAB — The Bureau of Land Management-Utah Kanab Field Office recently installed three new interpretive panels at the Moccasin Mountain Track Site near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The signs guide visitors through the site, which is one of the most diversified concentrations of prehistoric animal footprints in North America.
The tracks at Moccasin Mountain date from between 180 million and 190 million years ago, during the early Jurassic Period. Scientists believe that at that time, this part of southern Utah was closer to the equator and much closer to sea level. At that time, the area was an oasis where dinosaurs came to drink, leaving their footprints in the wet sand. Over time, those footprints gradually hardened into the tracks visible today.
Getting to the dinosaur track site is relatively easy, but it does require an ATV or four-wheel drive vehicle. Pick up a free brochure and map at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Visitor Center at 669 S. Highway 89A, Kanab. There is also a free activity sheet specially geared toward school-age children.
For more details, contact the Grand Staircase visitors center at 435-644-1300.