North Dakota’s badlands are full of beauty and history. Among the rocky and hilly terrain is millions of years worth of history “painted” right on the canyon walls through layers of different colored sediments that tell the story. They are known as the Painted Canyons, after all! Not only can you see this history visually through viewing the badlands, you can even head out yourself and dig up even more parts of this place’s story: fossils of the inhabitants, some over 50 million years old.
Think that sounds fun to you? Then keep reading to find out more.
Way out near Medora, North Dakota, you can take a trip to a fossil dig site and help dig up fossils with real paleontologists as part of the North Dakota Geological Survey.
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Registration for the 2018 dig season begins February 1st, 2018, and there are only four dig days available to sign up for. These days are July 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th.
NDGS Paleontology/Facebook
At the dig site, you can expect to spend a day out on the field helping to uncover these prehistoric remains. Participants must be 13 years of age or older - but there is no age limit after that!
NDGS Paleontology/Facebook
These fossils come from a time when this area wasn’t an arid prairie, but a swampland. It was filled with ancient crocodiles, salamanders, and even champsosaurus.
NDGS Paleontology/Facebook
As you continue to uncover what lies below the dirt, you might find the tiniest mammal jaw or large reptile bones. Plant and fish fossils are abundant, as well.
NDGS Paleontology/Facebook
No matter what you discover, this is the experience of a lifetime that will allow you to say you helped excavate remains that are millions of years old and full of information on life here in the former swamplands of North Dakota.
NDGS Paleontology/Facebook
For more information on how to register, click here. Registration begins at 8:00 AM on February 1st, 2018, and space is very limited. The dig site is just outside of Medora, North Dakota. You can also sign up for other digs in other parts of the state, including the Pembina Gorge, Dickinson area, Bismarck area, and more. Some of these dig sites have a bit more strenuous conditions than others.
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The geological formations in this area contain more ways to see the history of the land than just fossil digs. Their unusual shape and form captivate the many people who visit here. Read more about them here!
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