Como Bluff – Rock River, WY - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Como Bluff is the home of the largest dinosaur fossil beds in the world. It provides a backdrop for the Fossil Cabin Museum which was constructed of dinosaur bones. A marker tells more about its history and reads as follows:

To the north lies Como Bluff – “The Dinosaur Graveyard” – one of the greatest and well known fossil beds of dinosaur remains in the world. There paleontologists of the 19th century discovered and unearthed many excellent fossil specimens of the world’s largest land creatures.

Crews working for paleontologists at Yale University and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences found a multitude of dinosaur and other prehistoric animal remains in the late 1870s and 1880s, making Como Bluff the site of one of the most important discoveries of Jurassic fossils in the world. Dinosaur fossils from this region, including the now familiar Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Apatosaurus (aka. Brontosaurus), did more than any other discoveries to make the public conscious of dinosaurs. Fierce competition ensued between paleontologists and academic institutions resulting in what is now known as the “Dinosaur Wars.” In the late 1800s, hundreds of bones of dinosaurs and many other Jurassic animals, including some of the earliest known mammals were unearthed and shipped from this area. They now reside in such institutions as the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the American Museum of Natural History. Fossil Cabin was constructed as a tourist attraction during the Lincoln Highway era.

Como Bluff and Fossil Cabin are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Como Bluff is primarily on private land. Trespassing is not allowed.

Street address: Rt. 30 Rock River, WY USA County / Borough / Parish: Carbon Year listed: 1973 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Education, Industry, Cultural,Mesozoic Era Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1825-1849, 1800-1824 Historic function: Agriculture/Subsistence Current function: Agriculture/Subsistence Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/07/2023 Tom.dog visited it 05/05/2021 pnwfamily6 visited it

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