Tracks from an Acrocanthosaurus—a 113-million-year-old dinosaur—are commonly found at the bottom of the Paluxy River inside Dinosaur Valley State Park. But as severe drought hit Texas this summer, the river dried up and revealed the prehistoric footprints. A spokesperson from the state park told CNN that the newly discovered tracks belonged to an Acrocanthosaurus, a relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex that stood 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall. Shots of the pieces show three wide toes protruding from the heel, reminiscent of Jurassic Park. Acrocanthosaurus actually lived shortly after the Jurassic, in the Early Cretaceous period. The tracks at the state park were first discovered in 1909, according to their website. By the 1930s, paleontologists had found traces in the park of theropods – such as Acrocanthosaurus and T. rex – and sauropods, similar to the famous Brontosaurus. In 2022, Dinosaur Valley State Park is about 70 miles outside of Dallas. But in the Early Cretaceous, this area was at the edge of an ocean and covered in mud that collected dinosaur tracks, the park’s website says. The Texas region near Dinosaur Valley State Park is in the midst of “extreme” to “extreme” drought conditions, according to the U.S. government’s Drought Monitoring Service. This dry spell is part of the ongoing “Great Drought” in the US Southwest, which has plagued the region for more than 20 years. According to a recent study, this is the driest period in the region in at least 1,200 years. Other long-standing secrets—though not as old—have also been revealed in the Southwest as a result of the drought. In Lake Mead, officials found five sets of human remains this summer, including one believed to be a crime victim from the late 1970s or early 1980s. A World War II-era sunken vessel has also been uncovered as the lake’s shoreline shrinks. The current extreme drought is fueled by the climate crisis, and scientists expect droughts to worsen and become more frequent as the planet continues to warm. In addition to the drought, Texas has also faced repeated heat waves this summer, with temperatures regularly exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). Heavy storms this week in Dallas have caused flooding on several streets and at least one person dead.
