Dinosaurs Of The Southwest

During the Mesozoic era, the southwestern US was a tropical or semitropical region of seas and lowland swamps, inhabited by reptiles of all sizes and descriptions. This introduction to dinosaurs that once inhabited what are now the western states gives a background on paleontology, the dating of fossils, the variety in types, sizes and habits, and several theories about the reasons for the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Extensively illustrated with drawings by John C. McLoughlin, this book is a readable, accurate introduction valuable to tourists, young scientists, and other readers interested in this era of southwestern history.

The burnt-red badlands of Montana's Hell Creek are a vast graveyard of the Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived 68 million years ago. Those hills were, much later, also home to the Sioux, the Crows, and the Blackfeet, the first people to encounter the dinosaur fossils exposed by the elements. What did Native Americans make of these stone skeletons, and how did they explain the teeth and claws of gargantuan animals no one had seen alive? Did they speculate about their deaths? Did they collect fossils? Beginning in the East, with its Ice Age monsters, and ending in the West, where dinosaurs lived and died, this richly illustrated and elegantly written book examines the discoveries of enormous bones and uses of fossils for medicine, hunting magic, and spells. Well before Columbus, Native Americans observed the mysterious petrified remains of extinct creatures and sought to understand their transformation to stone. In perceptive creation stories, they visualized the remains of extinct mammoths, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine creatures as Monster Bears, Giant Lizards, Thunder Birds, and Water Monsters. Their insights, some so sophisticated that they anticipate modern scientific theories, were passed down in oral histories over many centuries. Drawing on historical sources, archaeology, traditional accounts, and extensive personal interviews, Adrienne Mayor takes us from Aztec and Inca fossil tales to the traditions of the Iroquois, Navajos, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Pawnees. Fossil Legends of the First Americans represents a major step forward in our understanding of how humans made sense of fossils before evolutionary theory developed.

Combines literary anecdotes with recommendations for hands-on discovery to introduce natural-world excavations in Arizona and New Mexico, where dinosaurs used to roam during the Mesozoic era.

Science and art collaborate to recreate life on Earth more than 200 million years ago

The Age of Dinosaurs This time in Earth's history is famous for the great reptiles that have captured the hearts and imaginations of people worldwide. But dinosaurs didn't appear until late in the period known as the Triassic, and at that point in history, many other animals were bigger, fiercer and odder. The day of the dinosaurs had a dawn and the Late Triassic was it. An update of the 1988 classic with all new text, new science, and new, expanded illustrations, Dawn of the Dinosaurs explores this extraordinary period in the history of our planet-a time when the first dinosaurs walked and breathed and the modern flora and fauna of our planet appeared. This tour of the bones, stones and landscapes that scientists study creates a vibrant picture of the lost world of the Chinle Formation of the American Southwest-one of the best records of this time period anywhere on Earth.

The Grand Staircase region, located in Southern Utah, is highly regarded as one of the best places in the world to study the period near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs--a time called the Late Cretaceous. In a relatively short period (geologically speaking) of about 25 million years, southern Utah was at times covered with an ocean teeming with life, swampy shorelines, and massive rivers draining a huge mountain range in the west. This diversity of plant and animal life has led to incredible fossil discoveries in the Late Cretaceous rocks, that have become a critical piece in a puzzle that stretches from Alaska to Mexico. In Where Dinosaurs Roamed, Christa Sadler looks at this important era in the history of life. Modern mammals, birds, and flowering plants were just getting their start, slowly gaining ground in the ecosystems of the time. Many of the fossils that paleontologists have found in southern Utah are unique: big, headline-grabbing creatures such as a dinosaur with fifteen horns; a distinctive cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex; a peculiar scissor-clawed dinosaur with feathers; and a thirty-foot long alligator relative. Add to this a host of smaller vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants, and paleontologists have been able to recreate entire ecosystems from the time between 74 and 100 million years ago. Altogether, these finds paint a picture of life in a very hot world, and may have lessons to teach us about our future world as well.

Some dinosaurs have undoubtedly earned their killer reputations. Reptilian carnivores used many different methods to catch and kill. Bone-crushing jaws, flesh-ripping teeth, and skin-slashing claws panicked prey during the age of the dinosaurs. Some carnivores hunted alone, and others worked in packs. Many were speedy, while others were wily or powerful. This mesmerizing book covers high-interest dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, as well as future favorites, such as Utahraptor and Carnotaurus. Dinosaur lovers will discover lots to absorb in the detailed charts, labeled illustrations, and spellbinding sidebars.