ST. GEORGE – Do you want to know where the edge of the Colorado Plateau is? Are you curious about why the tops of mesas around St. George are covered with lava, yet there’s none in the valleys? You can learn the answers to those questions and more at a new special display opening on Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Dinosaur Discovery at Johnson Farm.
The St. George Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a grand opening for a new exhibit called the “St. George ROCKS – Our Local Geology.” Admission to the grand opening is free and everyone is invited. If you’ve been meaning to see the Dinosaur Discovery site, you won’t get a better chance.
The local geology around St. George has been described as the biggest open-air geology museum in existence. It goes far beyond Zion and Snow Canyon. The Washington County geology was created by massive volcanic eruptions, ancient sea beds that were lifted to the tops of mountains, and towering sand dunes frozen in time in sandstone canyon walls.
You might not be aware that the local landscape features a host of world record “biggest and best” in geology. Its entries in the record book include the world’s biggest laccolith, known to locals as the Pine Valley Mountain; the biggest sand dunes the world has ever had that are now the walls of Zion Canyon; and the largest single dinosaur track block in any museum in the world, weighing 52,000 lbs., with 14 dinosaur trackways across its surface at the Dinosaur Discovery site.
The Dinosaur Discovery site is a world treasure that was discovered just a dozen years ago by retired optometrist Dr. Sheldon Johnson. As the world discovers what St. George has, it’s starting to be recognized as the greatest collection of dinosaur tracks in the world in one place and it’s just a few blocks from the freeway. You can even see one of only two tracks in the world left by a dinosaur sitting down (Let your imagination work on that one.)
Event recap and contact information
What: Grand opening of new exhibit, “St. George ROCKS – Our Local Geology.”
When: Dec. 5 at 5 p.m.
Where / Website: St. George Dinosaur Discovery at Johnson Farm
Location: 2180 East Riverside Drive, St. George
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
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