DINOSAUR VALLEY STATE PARK. Dinosaur Valley State Park, on Farm Road 205 four miles west of Glen Rose in north central Somervell County, was established by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1969. The park derives its name from the 100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks found within its area. The tracks, which were likely made by three different types of dinosaurs-acrocanthosaurus, pleurocoelus, and an as yet unidentified species-range from twelve to thirty-six inches in length and nine to twenty-four inches in width and are found at seven locations in the park. Other dinosaur tracks from the vicinity of the park have been collected and displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and at the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin. The park originally occupied 350 acres; in 1990 it covered 1,523 acres, mostly located within a large bend in the Paluxy River. Recreational facilities include nature and hiking trails, picnic areas, campgrounds, and five scenic overlooks. A herd of the state's longhorn cattle lives in the park.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: George Oxford Miller and Delena Tull, Texas Parks and Campgrounds: North, East, and Coastal Texas (Austin: Texas Monthly Press, 1984). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.
