Clayton Lake Dinosaur Trackways
Clayton Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a 170-acre recreational reservoir and a fossil trackway of dinosaur footprints. The landscape is characterized by rolling grasslands, volcanic rocks, and sandstone bluffs, set on the western edge of the Great Plains. The park area was a stopover point for travelers along the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail.
More than 100 million years ago, dinosaurs walked on the sandy shores of a seaway that extended from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Days were warm and humid, and plants covered the shore, much like the modern lowlands of Louisiana and Mississippi. You will see tracks of at least four different types of dinosaurs, including three—toed plant eating ornithopods, meat—eating theropods, and an armored dinosaur.
There are over 500 dinosaur tracks here. These tracks are some of the best— preserved examples in the world. They represent the behavior of dinosaurs, including where some slipped in the mud and used their tails for balance to keep from falling. The tracks are studied by paleontologists to estimate the speed a dinosaur was walking, the way it stood, its weight, and if the dinosaurs traveled in groups.
In 1955, the New Mexico Game and Fish Commission built a dam across Seneca Creek to make a bird refuge and fishing lake, now Clayton Lake. Layers of basalt and shale were blasted away, creating an emergency spillway and exposing soft sandstone to the weathering effects of rain and snow.
In 1982, Clayton Lake overflowed into the spillway, rushing over the ground and removing the last few inches of sandstone that covered the tracks.
Dinosaurs that tromped along this sandy shoreline left distinct footprints that remained long after they had passed. Some of the footprints filled with dust and debris, preserving the footprint shape and sometimes even the texture of the foot that made the print. Over time, the footprints were covered by layers of sand and mud.
Over millions of years, sand turned to sandstone and mud to mudstone. These soft, sedimentary rock layers were buried beneath more layers of rock, including impervious basalt from lava flows that originated from an ancient volcano. The basalt-sedimentary rock boundary is still visible in some areas of the park.
Tracks are full of information about dinosaur biology and behavior as well as the environment in which they lived. The Clayton Lake trackways are particularly important because of their diversity and abundance.
Where it is:
It is located 15 miles (24 km) north of Clayton, close to New Mexico’s border with Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. The park is accessed via New Mexico State Road 455.
Maps:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
The map shows the location of tracks that have been uncovered so far at Clayton Lake.
GPS:
36°34’20.268″ N 103°18’4.812″ W
Hours:
Open 24/7
Visitors Center 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Facilities:
Amenities
- Boating Facilities:
- Boat Ramp
- Campground Facilities
- 5 Campgrounds
- 26 Developed Campsites
- 7 Sites with Water
- 9 W+ E Sites (30 amp)
- Group Campsites
- Restrooms
- Restrooms with water
- Showers
- Vault Toilets
- Group Facilities
- 2 Group Picnic Shelter
- Group Camping
- Pre-Historic Site: Dinosaur Tracks
- Visitor Center
- Exhibits
- Observatory
Location Contact Information:
Clayton Lake Dinosaur Trackways Photo Gallery
Click Here for full page gallery
More Photographic Destinations in New Mexico
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State
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Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
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