🇨🇦76.5–75 million years ago

Dinosaur Park Formation

Alberta, Canada

in the vault

35+

known species

Why It Matters

The Dinosaur Park Formation, exposed dramatically in Alberta's Badlands, is one of the most diverse dinosaur-bearing formations in the world, preserving over 35 species within a remarkably short geological timespan of roughly 1.5 million years. It captures a complete Late Cretaceous lowland ecosystem with ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, pachycephalosaurs, and tyrannosaurids all represented. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dinosaur Provincial Park sits within these outcrops.

How Fossils Survived

Deposited on a low-lying coastal plain bordering the Western Interior Seaway, the formation preserves a mix of river channel sandstones and mudstone floodplains colonised by a lush subtropical forest. The high diversity of the reflects a productive, warm ecosystem with abundant plant food for large herbivores. The dry climate of the modern Alberta Badlands has eroded the soft sediments to expose bone-bearing horizons continuously, making the area one of the most productive collecting grounds on Earth.

Discovery History

Charles Sternberg and his sons began systematic collection in the Alberta Badlands in the early 1900s, shipping specimens to museums in North America and Europe. The Canadian government established Dinosaur Provincial Park in 1955 to protect the fossil heritage, and it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ongoing work by the Royal Tyrrell Museum continues to produce new species, with discoveries announced almost every year.