Makoshika Celebrates Its Golden Anniversary

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For the past 50 years, Makoshika State Park has awed visitors with its silent testimony to the world of dinosaurs and sub-tropical seas. Makoshika speaks of this ‘other’ world through the brownish-gray sediments of the Hell Creek Formation. The formation is stratified rock that dates back more than 65 million years ago to the time dinosaurs disappeared from earth.

The fossil remains that are embedded in this rock are like ancient photographs taken at the time dinosaurs disappeared and mammals came to populate the area.   Mollusks and other marine sediment deposited some 80 million years ago tell of the subtropical paradise once here.   The image contrasts hauntingly with Makoshika’s rugged yet delicate appearance today; eerie and dry, filled with fossils.

“The Hell Creek Formation is the last dinosaur-dominated ecosystem in North America, making it very important to understanding that period of time,” said Jack Horner, curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.   “Our goal, through our dinosaur digs in places like Jordan and other locations within this formation, is to build a picture of this entire ancient ecosystem, including the plants of the time.”

Above the Hell Creek Formation, in the upper 100 feet of rock, yellowish sediments are of the Fort Union Formation. This layer was deposited beginning some 64 million years ago. Here fossils from reptiles that came after the dinosaurs, fish, mammals and flora are found.

Horner said Makoshika’s significance, as part of the massive Hell Creek Formation, is that the fossils here are the most recent and well-preserved documentation of when dinosaurs became extinct. When one of these fossils weathers out of the ground by little bits, it is a clue that can lead researchers to dig deeper to discover more about these ancient times. That is why the public is asked to leave every fossil and bone fragment exactly where it is.

Two major discoveries have been made at Makoshika. A Triceratops skull, a three-horned plant-eating dinosaur, is on display at the visitor center. A Thescelosaurus,   a plant eating dinosaur specimen eight or more feet long, is at the Museum of the Rockies to be prepared for eventual display. Many other fossils await restoration at the Makoshika visitor center paleontology lab.

Today’s visitors are most likely to see mule deer, cottontails and the popular turkey vultures. Makoshika is a photographer’s paradise, with sagebrush, lizards, bull snakes, prairie falcons, eagles and over 150 species of wildflowers. A highlight every year is when the nearly 60 turkey vultures return home to Makoshika to a celebration in their honor called “Buzzard Day.” Buzzard Day is held every June on the second Saturday of the month.

The Visitor Center, built in 1994, helps visitors interpret the millions of years of history displayed at Makoshika. This 11,531-acre preserve is part of the larger 56,000-acre area of badlands southeast of Glendive. There are 12 miles of roadway to view the formations, camping and picnicking, nature trails and an amphitheater for scheduled evening programs Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The celebration of Makoshika’s 50 th Anniversary will include a ribbon cutting and afternoon of special events July 20 including a guided hike, presentations on the history of Makoshika a Blue Grass band, and anniversary cake and lemonade.   There will also be buggy rides. For details on the anniversary celebration, contact the park at 406-365-6256.