Project Overview

The Morrison Formation is one of the most important windows earth scientists have onto the world of the dinosaurs and the terrestrial ecosystem they lived in. It has an areal extent of some 700,000 square miles, but much of that is buried beneath other rock layers. It is world famous for rich concentrations of dinosaur fossils, with over 100 dinosaur quarries identified to date and new localities continuing to be discovered. In addition, the formation also contains fossilized remains of the diverse plant and animal communities that were contemporaries of the dinosaurs.

Although the Morrison has been studied for over 100 years, little is known about the extinct ecosystem entombed in the rocks. Contradictory interpretations of the geological and paleontological evidence by earth scientists have resulted in major controversies about the climate and nature of the ecosystem. Interpretations of climate vary from hot, semi-arid savannah to tropical rain forest. This controversy is due to the fact that previous studies have failed to take an interdisciplinary, ecosystem-level approach to the Morrison. However, recently completed. large-scale framework studies of the Morrison Formation in Dinosaur National Monument and the Colorado Plateau (Turner and Peterson, 1993) now provide a geological and temporal framework within which more detailed geological and paleoecological studies are possible. Moreover, new and innovative techniques in field and laboratory analysis offer promise for resolving previously intractable problems in ancient ecosystem reconstruction.

Because of its varied environments, rich fossil deposits, extensive rock exposures, and broad geographic distribution, the Morrison offers an unparalleled opportunity for understanding an ancient dinosaurian ecosystem. The Morrison is ideal for an interdisciplinary approach that will apply new and innovative paleontological and geological techniques. An interdisciplinary approach, with feedback between researchers with diverse backgrounds, will allow for a refinement of techniques and tight constraints on interpretation of data. As a result, an interdisciplinary, ecosystem-level study of the Morrison can serve as a model for other integrated analyses of ancient terrestrial ecosystems in the rock record.

The Morrison Formation has significant exposures in a number of National Park Service units in the Rocky Mountain Region:

Arches National Park
Bighorn National Recreation Area
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument
Capitol Reef National Park
Colorado National Monument
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Dinosaur National Monument
Glacier National Park
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Horenweep National Monument
Yellowstone National Park

Based on unpublished data and the scientific literature, there is a high probability that the Morrison in these units contains significant fossil resources. In some cases, such as Arches National Park, important vertebrate fossils are known to occur in the backcountry. In other cases, significant fossils have been found in exposures near or contiguous with a park, such as Colorado National Monument, suggesting that such material is present within the park. However, with the exception of Dinosaur National Monument, most of these exposures have been studied only in a cursory manner and studies that have been done do not provide the data needed for managing fossil resources.

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