Some people call this the "topography of the lunar surface" because it is already extremely barren, grassless and barren, and it is called "badland" by Canada.
But who would have thought that 75 million years ago, it was also covered with dense subtropical plants, tall and tall palm trees, rich and diverse herbs and rich soil, and it was also a paradise for dinosaurs.
Unfortunately, after the changes of the times, this place has changed from "paradise" to "bad land", what has it gone through to become what it is now?
The source of the "badlands"
Known to early French settlers as the "Canadian Badlands," the provincial dinosaur park is located in the heart of Alberta's Badlands.
At a glance, the rolling terraces, laterite rock formations and stone pillars shocked people's vision, as if they were transported to another world in an instant.
There is no living thing in this world, only barren land and strange and multi-colored and differentiated terrain formed by the wind and rain of nature.
Walking into this place, it seems to be walking on the "surface of the moon", and when people are deeply shocked by such a sight, they can't help but ask, how did such a unique place come about?
It dates back 75 million years, at the end of the Cretaceous Age. Once a low-lying coastal plain, lush vegetation and forests cover this coastal plain, and the warm, humid subtropical climate allows countless animals and plants to grow and survive.
Amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, primitive mammals, and even long-extinct dinosaurs once lived here.
There are about 35 kinds of dinosaurs here, and every day they play and fight, or fight each other, preying on the jungle, experiencing the vicissitudes of life and death and the change of century.
The carcasses of dead animals are also left in the rivers and mudflats here, and after being buried in sediment, new formations are formed, and after depositation, they become fossils.
It wasn't until the end of the Ice Age 13,000 years ago that the long-frozen glaciers finally melted, and these ice-covered sedimentary fossils were rediscovered.
The former vegetation here is gone, but has become a wasteland. Large stone forests, isolated terraces and low-lying deep valleys add even more bleakness to the area.
In addition, in the process of melting the glacier, a river that still exists in the area, the Red Deer River, was formed.
The banks of this long river of history have recorded countless traces of stratigraphic changes and rich animal fossils.
Among them are dinosaur fossils.
A paradise for dinosaur lovers
Although this land has become what people call "bad land", it also leaves behind the "treasures" of the creatures who have lived here for tens of millions of years.
Dinosaur fossils were first discovered in the land in 1884, when an archaeologist discovered a tyrannosaurus fossil and named it Albertasaurus.
Following this discovery, many paleontologists and archaeologists came here to archaeology, and as they wished, they also found a large and diverse number of dinosaur fossils here.
As a result, people learned that this bad land was once home to a large number of dinosaurs, and finally it was named the Provincial Dinosaur Park and also listed as a World Heritage Site.
The Royal Tyrrell Paleontological Museum in the Provincial Dinosaur Park houses a large collection of fossil specimens excavated along the Red Deer River, including complete dinosaur skeletons, which can be said to be a paradise for dinosaur lovers.
Not only that, the museum displays more than 2,500 kilometers of fossil footprints in Alberta, allowing people to immerse themselves and explore the changes of species.
During the Late Cretaceous period, Alberta, with its mild climate and dense vegetation, attracted a large number of dinosaurs and other paleontological beings to live and reproduce.
As a result, 35 complete dinosaur skeleton fossils were discovered and displayed. These include ornithosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Tyrannosaurus, Nodulosaurus and Ceratopsaurus with a history of 65 million to 230 million years.
In particular, Tyrannosaurus rex has a wide variety of treasures in the museum. As the apex predator of the time, Tyrannosaurus rex at the top of the food chain was the most common large carnivore at the time.
Each dinosaur has its own unique characteristics: Ceratops has the largest skull in dinosaurs, the skeleton of ornithosaurus is very beautiful, and so on...
Albertasaurus is about 9 meters long, 4.5 meters tall, weighs 4 tons, and has long legs, making it the fastest of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
These different kinds of dinosaur fossil bones are treasured in the exhibition hall for people to visit.
When paleontologists find dinosaur fossils, they pack them in sacks and then mark them with detailed information, including dates and types.
Therefore, the pavilion is divided into categories to store the bodies, bones and teeth of dinosaurs and various prehistoric animals.
Indentations and traces of fracture healing will also be found on the bodies of some dinosaur fossils, all of which prove how strong the fighting power of these land overlords is.
Well, how did the former land overlord disappear from the earth?
A mysterious treasure from 70 million years ago
Later studies deduced that the time when dinosaurs really disappeared from the earth was at the end of the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, when a meteorite hit the earth, making dinosaurs, the unrivaled earth overlord, extinct from the earth.
Scientists believe that the meteorite fall from the giant asteroid that fell into the Gulf of Mexico at that time was the main cause of the disappearance of the dinosaurs.
The fall of the planet triggered acid rain, the temperature dropped sharply, and the entire earth was shrouded in darkness without light. In addition to ferns, which continue to grow, other plants and even entire forests disappear completely.
Not only did 40% of the species disappear completely, but even the small species that survived were forced to adapt and evolve into other species. For example, today's crocodiles, turtles, and snakes all evolved at that time.
Large species like dinosaurs were forced to go extinct when disaster struck. When archaeologists found the bones of a group of Albertosaurus dying en masse in different poses in dinosaur park, they seemed to feel the moment of disaster.
However, such a disaster made these ancient creatures extinct from then on, until tens of millions of years later, people discovered here, and these 70 million years ago treasures remained, collected, exhibited, and even shaped a large number of restoration maps and dinosaur models, so that people can better understand the dinosaur movement, and keep these land overlords in their hearts.
Until now, the Royal Tyrrell Museum on this "Canadian Badlands" is the only museum in Canada dedicated to the study of paleontology and one of the largest dinosaur museums in the world.
Many people are attracted by the dinosaur skeletons treasured here, and have set foot in this magical "bad land" thousands of miles away, looking forward to "encountering" with the former land overlord.
Author: Gollum
Reference: Vip Journal Back to the Cretaceous: Exploring the Alberta Heath
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