Alberta, Canada
The Dinosaur Park Formation, exposed dramatically in Alberta's Badlands, is one of the most diverse dinosaur-bearing formations in the world, preserving over 35 species within a remarkably short geological timespan of roughly 1.5 million years. It captures a complete Late Cretaceous lowland ecosystem with ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, pachycephalosaurs, and tyrannosaurids all represented. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dinosaur Provincial Park sits within these outcrops.
Deposited on a low-lying coastal plain bordering the Western Interior Seaway, the formation preserves a mix of river channel sandstones and mudstone floodplains colonised by a lush subtropical forest. The high diversity of the fauna reflects a productive, warm ecosystem with abundant plant food for large herbivores. The dry climate of the modern Alberta Badlands has eroded the soft sediments to expose bone-bearing horizons continuously, making the area one of the most productive collecting grounds on Earth.
Charles Sternberg and his sons began systematic collection in the Alberta Badlands in the early 1900s, shipping specimens to museums in North America and Europe. The Canadian government established Dinosaur Provincial Park in 1955 to protect the fossil heritage, and it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ongoing work by the Royal Tyrrell Museum continues to produce new species, with discoveries announced almost every year.
Dinosaur Provincial Park has yielded over 500 museum-quality specimens and fragments of 35+ dinosaur species — a density unmatched anywhere on Earth.
The formation preserves the same 1.5-million-year window from multiple angles across hundreds of square kilometres, giving a panoramic view of the ecosystem.
Styracosaurus, Corythosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and Lambeosaurus were all collected from these Badlands exposures in the early 20th century — four iconic dinosaurs from one small area.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum, located just north of the park, was built specifically to house Dinosaur Park Formation specimens and is considered one of the world's great natural history museums.
6 species in our database · sorted by size