Discovering Alaska’s Prehistoric Far North
These rocks won’t do, Tony Fiorillo remarked, pointing at the sharp-edged pink and black stones that scattered along the Yukon River in Alaska. Fiorillo, a renowned paleontologist and the executive director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, was searching for rocks that were twice as old as the ones beneath his feet. He and his team were on the hunt for evidence of the dinosaurs that once roamed this part of Alaska during the Cretaceous Era.
Paleontologists like Fiorillo had long suspected that this region held a wealth of fossil evidence, but it wasn’t until this expedition that a team set out to thoroughly survey the area. For 16 days, Fiorillo, along with geologist Paul McCarthy and paleontologist Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, documented their findings through photographs and detailed field notebooks. During their journey, they stumbled upon a rock face with bird footprints and discovered numerous other blocks with similar imprints.
With the goal of enhancing what little we know of Alaska’s prehistoric past, the team covered over 100 miles of the river, searching for the right kind of rocks – sandstones, shale, and siltstones from the Cretaceous Era. Armed with a geologic map and an outdated academic paper published nearly 40 years ago, the researchers hoped to uncover evidence that dinosaurs were plentiful in this part of Alaska. Fiorillo explained, “Finding dinosaurs in Alaska challenges everything we think we know about dinosaurs. It’s clear they were way more adaptable than I think we appreciate.”
More than 100 million years ago, Alaska’s climate was similar to that of present-day Portland or Seattle, although it remained in the same geographical location. Using geological measurements, McCarthy deduced that the landscape of the time resembled the current Yukon River area – a deltaic system with braided channels, swamps, ponds, and thick forests. While the precise precipitation levels remain unknown, the rocks offer clues suggesting a water-rich environment.
The rocks held large fossil leaves, cones from coniferous trees, and enormous petrified logs along the riverbank. Excavating one of these logs under the blazing sun, Kobayashi remarked, “I’m not a tree person; I’m a dinosaur person.” The logs indicate a dense forest and provide insights into the dinosaur species and their potential diet. The team gathered samples for a paleobotanist to identify these fossil species.
By exploring this section of the Yukon, the team believes they are gaining a better understanding of dinosaurs worldwide. Fiorillo explained, “Every dinosaur except one that lived in New Mexico, in the Cretaceous, came through the Bering Land Bridge from Asia. And so, if you know what’s going on in Alaska, you actually know a lot about the dinosaur faunas and interactions in two major landmasses, Asia and North America.”
Prior to this expedition, scientists had not conducted a thorough examination of this stretch of the Yukon. McCarthy said, “This is really the first time anyone has systematically looked at the sedimentology and the paleontology here.” Despite previous knowledge of potential dinosaur tracks, few attempts were made to explore the region further. Ten years ago, a research team discovered dinosaur prints along the middle section of the Yukon River and returned to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks with a significant collection of rocks containing these prints. The latest expedition aimed to build upon these discoveries.
Over the course of the expedition, the team uncovered more than 90 sites where evidence of dinosaurs, ancient bird species, and fish could be found. The stretch of the Yukon appeared to be rich in tracks, exceeding other areas of Alaska. Some days yielded up to 10 footprints, while other parts of Alaska produced a mere two tracks over multiple field seasons. While bones eluded them this time, the team discovered an impression of dinosaur skin that adds to their knowledge of prehistoric life in the region. They hope to return soon to continue their exploration.
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