一个夏天的干旱揭示了全球长期淹没的遗迹。有些让我们回到几十年前，而另一些则拥有几千年的历史。德克萨斯州的一个公园声称今年夏天发现的最古老的恐龙足迹之一可以追溯到1.13亿年前。
得克萨斯州沃思堡附近的恐龙谷州立公园，顾名思义，就是著名的，已经发现恐龙历史上被水和沉积物覆盖的脚印。
现在，一个夏天的干旱使帕洛克西河萎缩，几百万年前的痕迹可以看到。
公园负责人杰夫·戴维斯告诉ABC新闻，发现足迹的泰勒遗址是今年夏天公园里最令人惊叹的地方之一。
戴维斯说，这个地点的足迹可能是北美单一恐龙留下的最长的足迹。戴维斯说这些足迹来自几百万年前的角龙恐龙。
然而，作为德克萨斯州开始下雨了戴维斯说，这些痕迹可能用不了多久就会再次被隐藏起来。
“这只是河流的性质，”戴维斯说。
戴维斯说，虽然这些轨迹至少20年没有变得可见，但根据天气情况，不同的轨迹在整个公园变得可见和消失是很常见的。
他说，由于干旱，许多道路更容易通行。
在泰勒遗址公园的对面，戴维斯说，德尼欧遗址在干旱期间已经被清理干净。在这里，波塞东龙的足迹清晰可见。
戴维斯说，在公园里观看恐龙足迹的最佳时间每年都不一样。戴维斯说，公园鼓励游客在春季和秋季参观，因为这两个季节天气稍凉，在室外比在炎热的夏季更安全。
戴维斯说，让河流穿过公园是一把双刃剑，因为它可以使痕迹看不见，但它也可以在某些方面确保它们的保存。
“这条河会带来淤泥和沉积物，堆积在铁轨上。这就是它们得以保存的原因，也是它们在大约1.13亿年后仍然存在的原因，”戴维斯说。
这张由恐龙谷州立公园于2022年8月23日提供的讲义图片展示了大约1.13亿年前发现的恐龙足迹...显示更多undefined
恐龙谷州立公园/法新社
正因为如此，戴维斯说公园会有意掩盖一些痕迹，以便将来保护它们。在其他情况下，公园管理员或志愿者会使用安全的方法清理痕迹。
戴维斯说，工作人员将结合使用少量的水，吹叶机和扫帚来清理和清理一些轨道。他说，这样一来，救援人员可以在不损坏铁轨的情况下挖出沉积物和岩石。
戴维斯说，现在铁轨特别明显，公园里有很多值得一看的东西。
“恐龙谷州立公园有世界级的恐龙足迹，”戴维斯说。“你知道，据我们所知，世界上没有比这更好的足迹了，我们卡车的长度衡量了保存的质量、特征和足迹的详细程度。”
Dinosaur tracks from 113M years ago have become visible amid drought
A summer of drought has revealed long-submerged relics across the globe. Some bring us back decades, while others boast histories of thousands of years. A park in Texas now claims one of the oldest revealed this summer – dinosaur footprints dating back over 113 million years.
The Dinosaur Valley State Park near Fort Worth, Texas, famous for exactly what its name suggests, has discovereddinosaurfootprints that have historically been covered by water and sediment.
Now that a summer of drought has left its Paluxy River shrinking, tracks from millions of years ago can be seen.
Jeff Davis, park superintendent, told ABC News that the Taylor site, where the tracks were found, is one of the most breathtaking parts of the park this summer.
Davis said the tracks at this site are possibly the longest tracks made by a single dinosaur in North America. Davis said the tracks are from Acrocanthosaurus dinosaurs from millions of years ago.
However, asTexas begins to get some rain, Davis said it likely won't be long before the tracks become hidden again.
"It's just the nature of the river," Davis said.
While these tracks haven't become visible in at least 20 years, Davis said, it's common for different tracks to become visible and disappear throughout the park based on weather.
Because of the drought, many of these tracks are more accessible, he said.
On the opposite side of the park from the Taylor site, Davis said the Denio site has been cleared off during the drought. At this site, Sauroposeidon tracks are visible.
Davis said the optimal time for viewing dinosaur tracks at the park varies from year to year. Davis said the park encourages visitors in the spring and fall when the weather is a bit cooler and it's safer to be outside than in the summer heat.
Davis said having the river run through the park is a double-edged sword, because it can make the tracks invisible, but it can also ensure their preservation in some ways.
"It's the river that will bring in silt and sediment and pile those on top of the tracks. That's what preserves them, that's why they're still here after 113 million years or so," Davis said.
Because of that, Davis said the park will leave some tracks intentionally covered, in order to preserve them for the future. In other cases, park rangers or volunteer crews will use safe methods to clear tracks.
Davis said crews will use a combination of a little water, leaf blowers and brooms to clear and clean out some of the tracks. This way, crews can scoop out sediment and rocks without damaging the tracks, he said.
With tracks especially visible right now, Davis said there is plenty to see at the park.
"Dinosaur Valley State Park has world-class dinosaur tracks," Davis said. "You know there are no better tracks anywhere in the world that we're aware of as far as the length of our truck weighs the quality of the preservation, the features, how detailed the tracks are."
