Geological Quote of the Week

Posts have been slow going but I have finally finished my redesign of Dinojim.com. Go and check it out. My posts should start to pick up from here.

This next quote of the week discussed trace fossils, in particular dinosaur footprints. I was reminded of this by a conversation between Tony Ekdale and Tony Martin (of Life Trace of the Georgia Coast blog). The paper describes dinosaur footprints that were found in the ceiling of coal mines.

"Dinosaur footprint casts which extend down from the roof several inches are a nuisance where the coal seam is thin, causing the roof to be low; mine workers continually bump their heads on them. More serious problems have existed with them since mining began in the area in the early part of the century, because they fall and kill or seriously injure mine workers...We are unaware of other lethal trace fossils, nor do we know of other circumstances where dinosaur activity has contributed to the possible death of human beings."

You can check out the other quotes at my site by clicking HERE.


Parker, L.R., & Rowley, R.L.J., 1989, Dinosaur Footprints from a coal mine in East-Central Utah, in Gillette, D.D., and Lockley, M.G., Eds., Dinosaur Tracks and Traces: New York, Cambrdge University Press, p. 361-366.