Riker Hill Fossil Site (also referred to as Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park) is a

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (geology), epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes t ...

site in Roseland in Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, located at the south western side of the borough at the border between Roseland and

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

. It is one of the major sites in United States where a large number of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

tracks are preserved. It was declared a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in June 1971.

History

Originally, the site was part of a stone

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

owned by the

Kidde Kidde () is a brand and division of Carrier Global that manufactures and distributes fire detection and suppression equipment, as well as smoke and CO alarm units. Kidde is one of America's largest manufacturer of smoke alarms and fire safety pr ...

company called Roseland Quarry.Olsen, Paul E
Fossil Great Lakes of the Newark Supergroup in New Jersey.
W. Manspeizer (ed.), 1980, Field Studies in New Jersey Geology and Guide to Field Trips, 52nd Ann. Mtg.New York State Geology Association, ''Newark College of Arts and Sciences,Newark, Rutgers University,'' p. 352-398. In 1968, there was a discovery of dinosaur tracks on the quarry. With the news, a 14-year-old,

Paul E. Olsen Paul E. Olsen (born August 4, 1953) is an American paleontologist and author and co-author of a large number of technical papers. Growing up as a teenager in Livingston, New Jersey, he was instrumental in Riker Hill Fossil Site being named a Na ...

who lived in Livingston, and his friend Tony Lessa started visiting the quarry to study them.Foot Forward.
''State of The Planet Blogs of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.'' March 11, 2009 - accessed on March 27, 2009 Over a period of a few years, they uncovered more than one thousand dinosaur, animal and insect tracks from the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...

and

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...

period.

Cast of Eubrontes Gigantis track by Paul Olsen

When the fate of the quarry site became uncertain, the two teenagers came up with a plan to prevent the site from being developed. They made a

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

from a footprint of Eubrontes giganteus and sent that to President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

to get support. Eventually, the quarry was split. The most productive portion was preserved and donated to the Essex County Park Commission and named after

Walter Kidde Walter Kidde (; March 7, 1877 – February 9, 1943) was an American businessman. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1897. He was the owner of the Kidde company which manufactured fire extinguishers. His parents immigrated t ...

. The rest of the quarry was later developed into Nob Hill apartments. In June 1971, the preserved site was registered as a

. Currently, the site is now part of the Riker Hill Complex along with Riker Hill Art Park and Becker Park. For many years, the public was allowed to collect fossils at the site, but now access to the site is restricted.

References

External links

Riker Hill Complex

Map of site
{{authority control Fossil trackways in the United States National Natural Landmarks in New Jersey Jurassic paleontological sites of North America Protected areas of Essex County, New Jersey Fossil parks in the United States Livingston, New Jersey Paleontology in New Jersey