Exactly 310 million years old?
Or maybe a few hundred million fewer years than 310,000,000. It might also be the mud tire of a Jeep Wrangler.
Mebbe he was sidestepping around those perfectly straight crossing lines so as not to mess them up?
Interactive geologic map of the Grand Canyon area:
http://rclark.github.io/grand-canyon-geology/
AZGS wunderkind Ryan Clark has built a demonstration interactive geologic map of the Grand Canyon region, using the geologic maps prepared by George Billingsley of the USGS.
Run your cursor over the map and the geologic unit name and description appear in the legend at the lower left. Although the maps were published at 1:100,000 scale, the original mapping was done at 1:24,000
That is so amazing. The world is truly a glorious place.
From the peculiar gate, it would appear to be the earliest discovery of Hillary Rodham’s decedents...
I am one of those weirdos who think the Grand Canyon was carved down in a much shorter time, and not so long ago.
From the air it looks so much like drainage from the huge ocean that was icebound in Canada and the Plains.
So, foot prints in mud at any level in the grand canyon is suspect in my mind.
Just my opinion. And I am a pretty hardcore traditional geologist guy from way back when Fossil Fred was teaching on the hill.
“Some 310 million years ago, a reptile-like creature with an unusual gait roamed the sandy expanses of the Grand Canyon”
The first dinosaurs are thought to have appeared somewhere around 225-235 million years ago.
I think I sometimes walk like that when I first get out of bed in the morning.
On a serious note: I would encourage every FReeper to consider a trip to see the Grand Canyon, and do it while you are still young and fit enough to do some walking around.
"...310 million years old..."
or, the creature was drunk
310 million years?
Do they carbon date them?
299 million years for others?
Baffles me.
Lord, what a beautiful place.
“Scientists write that they “tentatively” assign the tracks to a “basal tetrapod of unknown taxonomic affinity” and the ichnogenus (category of trace fossil) Chelichnus”
Well, duh!
TXnMA
Millions of years from now some hiker will stumble across tracks made by something called a reebok....