Near Moab in Grand County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Crocodile Slide
Photographed by James Hulse, March 31, 2025
1. Crocodile Slide Marker
Inscription.
Crocodile Slide. . The odd-shaped trace before you may be an impression made by a crocodile sliding on its belly into shallow water, leaving at least one footprint, and possibly belly and tail slide marks behind. Such traces are also found just south of Moab in the Morrison Formation, so this would not be an unexpected trace here. Crocodiles were relatively common in the late Jurassic through the late Cretaceous periods in western North America. What does this tell us about the climate during the age of dinosaurs? Think about where crocodiles and alligators live today and imagine the Mississippi delta environment existing through Utah and up to Alberta. What an amazing place this must have been!, Name of Track: Hatcherichnus-like trace , Early Cretaceous (~112 million years ago) , Cedar Mountain Formation
The odd-shaped trace before you may be an impression made by a crocodile sliding on its belly into shallow water, leaving at least one footprint, and possibly belly and tail slide marks behind. Such traces are also found just south of Moab in the Morrison Formation, so this would not be an unexpected trace here. Crocodiles were relatively common in the late Jurassic through the late Cretaceous periods in western North America. What does this tell us about the climate during the age of dinosaurs? Think about where crocodiles and alligators live today and imagine the Mississippi delta environment existing through Utah and up to Alberta. What an amazing place this must have been!
Name of Track: Hatcherichnus-like trace
Early Cretaceous (~112 million years ago)
Cedar Mountain Formation
Erected by National System of Public Lands, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.
Location. 38° 43.35′ N, 109° 44.045′ W. Marker is near Moab, Utah,
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in Grand County. It is on Cotter Mine Road (County Road BLM 215) 0.2 miles south of Mill Canyon Road, on the right when traveling south. The marker is located at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Moab UT 84532, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Canyon Country. It is also in the American Mountain West, in Colorado Plateau, and at the Four Corners. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
distance of this marker); Geology (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Moab.
Additional keywords. Ichnology
Photographed by James Hulse, March 31, 2025
3. Crocodile Slide impression
Photographed by James Hulse, March 31, 2025
4. The view of the Crocodile Slide Marker along the trail
Credits. This page was last revised on April 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 28, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 113 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 28, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
