History and geology of the Cope’s Nipple Quarries in Garden Park, Colorado—type locality of giant sauropods in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation

Kenneth Carpenter

doi:10.31711/giw.v6i0.34

Abstract

The discovery in 1877 of what proved to be an extensive multi-taxa bonebed from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation helped kick-start the first Jurassic “Dinosaur Rush.” Located north of Cañon City, Colorado, the site, known today as Cope’s Nipple within the Garden Park National Natural Landmark, was worked by Oramel and Ira Lucas from 1877 to 1884, again by the Carnegie Museum in 1901, and sporadically by the Denver Museum of Natural History from 1991 to 1996. The history of this work is presented in depth for the first time using extensive archival records. The quarries occur in a single horizon around the base of Cope’s Nipple and represents a widespread bonebed in distal overbank silty mudstone that was subsequently modified by pedogenesis. Limited taphonomic data indicate the bonebed was a mix of allochthonous and autochthonous bone.

Highlights

The first Jurassic “Dinosaur Rush” began with the near simultaneous discovery of dinosaur bones close to the towns of Morrison and Cañon City, Colorado, in 1877
Two prominent sites were found north of Cañon City in the area known as Garden Park
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History reopened some of the Lucas Quarries in August through September 1901. Correspondence quoted from this time between John Hatcher, William Utterback, George Axtell, and William Holland is preserved at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and is referred to as “CM archives.”

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The first Jurassic “Dinosaur Rush” began with the near simultaneous discovery of dinosaur bones close to the towns of Morrison and Cañon City, Colorado, in 1877 (figure 1). “the Hill,” “Saurian Hill,” “the Nipple,” “Talbot’s Hill;” figure 1A) from where most of the Cope specimens came (figure 1B), is recounted below, along with a discussion of the sedimentology and taphonomy Both the Felch and Lucas quarries lie within. Carpenter, K., 2019, History and geology of the Cope’s Nipple Quarries in Garden Park, Colorado—type locality of giant sauropods in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation: Geology of the Intermountain West, v. History and Geology of the Cope’s Nipple Quarries in Garden Park, Colorado—Type Locality of Giant Sauropods in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation Carpenter, K. the Bureau of Land Management’s Garden Park National Natural Landmark—formerly known as the Garden Park Paleontological Resource Area

MATERIALS AND METHODS

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION