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If you’ve ever watched
Jurassic Park and thought “that looks pretty cool, except for the part where the people get eaten”, then Utah’s newest state park may be for you.
Located just north of Moab, Utahraptor State Park covers 6,500 acres of trails, campgrounds, and fossil beds with more bones than Dinosaur National Monument. The park’s namesake, the Utahraptor, was first discovered here in 1991, and has since become the state’s official dinosaur. Possibly the largest of all the Cretaceous raptors Utahraptor dwarfed the better-known velociraptor at nearly 20 feet long. Researchers believe it used its 9.5-inch sickle-shaped claws to rip apart prey before tearing in with 2-inch-long serrated teeth. Depictions based on the latest research show Utahraptor as a feathered, bipedal carnivore, sometimes roaming in packs, sometimes alone (there isn’t yet definitive proof that they were group hunters).
mmac72/iStock via Getty Images
Utah’s more than 40 state parks, from Antelope Island to Goblin Valley, are a testament to the region’s fascinating and diverse landscapes. Now, as
Travel + Leisurereports, the state is adding two more to the mix: Utahraptor State Park and Lost Creek State Park.
The bill, signed into law by Utah governor Spencer Cox in mid-March, didn’t only make the designation official it also allotted $36.5 million for the parks’ renovation and development. Both places are already pretty popular spots. Lost Creek State Park will be located around Lost Creek Reservoir, where people like to fish for rainbow and cutthroat trout. And Utahraptor State Park, near Moab in eastern Utah, is frequented by hikers and campers.
The governor also signed measures on COVID-19 vaccines and launching a state flag review.
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) A Utahraptor skull reconstruction is displayed next to the speaker’s seat in the House chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 5, 2021, the final day of the Utah Legislature’s 2021 general session. HB 322 creates a state park in Utah that would protect the dinosaur quarry in the Dalton Wells area near Moab.
| March 17, 2021, 5:40 p.m.
Utah is getting two new state parks, one paying tribute to its official “state dinosaur” and another protecting a recreational area in Morgan County.
A new state park could be coming to Moab, bill advances in legislature thespectrum.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thespectrum.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.