The Grand Canyon’s Oldest Footprints Are 310 Million Years Old

[rangerrebew]

The Grand Canyon’s Oldest Footprints Are 310 Million Years Old

Researcher Stephen Rowland says the creature that left the tracks was “doing a funny little side-walking step, line-dance kind of thing”


By Meilan Solly

October 26, 2018
 

Some 310 million years ago, a reptile-like creature with an unusual gait roamed the sandy expanses of the Grand Canyon, leaving a trail of 28 footprints that can still be seen today. As Michael Greshko reports for National Geographic, these unusually well-preserved markers represent the national park’s oldest footfalls—and, if additional analysis links the early reptile to one that left a similar set of prints in Scotland roughly 299 million years ago, the tracks may even earn the distinction of being the oldest of their kind by more than 10 million years.

A paleontologist hiking the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail with a group of students happened upon the footprints in 2016. The animal’s path, which hardened into sandstone soon after its creator scurried off, had previously been hidden inside of a boulder. When the rock fell and split open, the winding trail was finally exposed, enabling the hikers to spot it as they explored the Arizona canyon.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/grand-canyons-oldest-footprints-are-310-million-years-old-180970638/#IvJUPagY7fLHKZXV.99

[DCPatriot]

Uhhh....perhaps the footprints were made on lava that had not 'set' yet?   

Like walking barefoot on hot beach sand...the gait is going to unnatural.  'The lizard' ran like hell.