REDISCOVERING ARTHUR LAKES' HISTORIC LOST QUARRIES AT DINOSAUR RIDGE (MORRISON, COLORADO)

In March of 1877, Professor Arthur Lakes of Golden and H. C. Beckwith, United States Navy, while exploring the Jurassic-Cretaceous hogback or ‘ridge’ that bounds the Golden Road near Morrison, Colorado discovered the fossil bone of a gigantic reptile. During the next few years, more than a dozen excavations (“quarries”) were made along the hogback between present day Morrison and I-70 revealing bones of the first Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Allosaurus, along with numerous other species of reptiles and plants. During the last 130 plus years, erosion, landslides, and vegetation have obscured the locations of these quarries and consequently the precise locations of the type localities for several of the world's most famous dinosaurs are unknown. Nonetheless, thanks to Lakes’ early work the area, now known as Dinosaur Ridge is world famous.

During the summer of 2009, efforts were made to rediscover these "lost quarries" whose locations have eluded other investigators for many years. Although Lakes described the excavations and the bones removed from them in considerable detail in his diaries, the precise locations for these quarries were not recorded unambiguously. The only reference to their locations was a sketch of the ridge he made in 1879 after most of the excavating had been completed. The sketch is sparsely labeled, not to scale, and lacks many reference points critical to accurately pinpointing the locations of these quarries.

Utilizing his sketch, his diaries, old photos, and standard field techniques, the location of Quarry #1 was identified in September of 2009, and confirmed by the presence of tool (drilling) marks. During the Spring of 2010, a detailed survey and investigation was undertaken at this location and surrounding areas of Dinosaur Ridge to fully document this historic paleontological site. From this investigation, important new information has been gathered on this the type locality of Atlantosaurus montanus Marsh, which is vital for integrating the geological, paleontological and historical record of this classic site.