Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark

Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark

Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark is located on the North Bank of Yanguoxia reservoir area (now called Taiji Lake) in Yongjing County, Gansu Province. It is 54 kilometers away from the provincial capital Lanzhou in the East and 34 kilometers away from Yongjing County waterway in the southeast. There is a railway line passing by, so the traffic is very convenient.

The park covers an area of 15 square kilometers, including 1.8 square kilometers of water. The Geopark is dominated by groups of dinosaur footprints. The Geopark is a natural geological relic landscape composed of the world's rare Cretaceous dinosaur footprints, dinosaur tracks, tail drag marks, dung tracks, Late Cretaceous stratigraphic sections, the third planation plane, paleontological fossil spots, mud marks, ripple marks and other sedimentary structures, normal faults and fold structures. It has high scientific research, popular science and tourism value.

On October 11, 2005, Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark officially opened.

The dinosaur with the largest teeth found in Liujiaxia and among the known herbivorous dinosaurs in the world is named Lanzhou dragon, and its skeleton replica is on display in the Geopark.

Basic introduction

From July to August, 1999, paleontologists conducted field investigation in the area of Laohukou in Yanguoxia, only to find 1821 dinosaur footprints in 172 groups of 10 classes, covering an area of 2800 square meters. According to the investigation, there are at least two kinds of giant sauropods, two kinds of theropods, one kind of ornithosaurs, one kind of pterosaurs and three other kinds of footprints with unique morphology and not yet belonging, representing at least nine genera and species. It is the first time in China that such a variety of plant eating and carnivorous dinosaur footprints appear in the same place, and it is extremely rare in the world. In 1982, the largest dinosaur footprints in the world were found along the coast of qingshangdao, South Korea. They were sauropods (brachiosaurs) footprints 120 cm long and 64 cm wide. Among the dinosaur footprints of Liujiaxia, the largest group of sauropod footprints is 150 cm long and 120 cm wide in hind footprints, 70 cm long and 10 cm wide in forefootprints, 375 cm in stride, and 345 cm apart in lateral margin of left and right footprints. Experts determined that the footprints were left by a giant, which could cross a basketball court in two steps, with a body length of at least 20 meters and a weight of nearly 50 tons. Moreover, this kind of footprints has small forefoot and large hindfoot. The forefoot and hindfoot appear in pairs and overlap regularly, which is the first discovery at home and abroad.

In order to protect the potential scientific research, popular science and tourism value of dinosaur footprints, the provincial government approved the establishment of "Liujiaxia Cretaceous dinosaur footprints provincial nature reserve" in November 2001, and the Ministry of land and Resources approved the construction of "Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark" in December 2001. By 2018, the construction of power grid, waterway, highway and railway in the whole region has been completed, the 2.5 square kilometers area of the core area has been fenced, the waterway wharf has been built, and the railway docking point has been added.

In 2005, 103 pieces of dinosaur skeleton fossils were found tens of kilometers away from Liujiaxia dinosaur footprints fossil group. Its mother is the dinosaur with the largest teeth among the known herbivorous dinosaurs in the world. It was named "Lanzhou dragon". On October 11, Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark officially opened. Besides its colorful advantages, it also has many inkstones and fine carvings. The style of Tao inkstone is dignified and heavy, simple and elegant. It has a unique style different from other inkstones in technology. It is different from other stone inkstones that the lines with proper thickness are filled with black.

Map information

favoured policy

After the resumption of operation, the scenic spot will be open to all medical staff in China for free until the end of 2020.

Address: Yongjing County

Longitude: 103.2089963379

Latitude: 36.067699432373