Moenave, also known as Moa Ave, is a
populated place situated in
Coconino County
Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States.
It was officially named Moenave as a result of a
Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
decision in 1971. Moenave has an estimated elevation of above sea level.
Moenave became a notable destination after the completion of U.S. Route 160 through Arizona. During construction, it was discovered that a large concentration of dinosaur tracks have been preserved in what was once a shallow marshland. It is apparent that the area dried very quickly, turning the mud along with the dinosaur tracks into hardened rock, preserving them for millions of years. Well defined tracks made by
''Tyrannosaurus Rex'',
Velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the p ...
,
Pterodactylus
''Pterodactylus'' (from Greek () meaning 'winged finger') is an extinct genus of pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying rept ...
, ''and many others species can be found at the site. In addition to the tracks, poorly preserved remains of dinosaur bones and raptor claws can be found in the area. The best preserved fossils discovered in Moenave were removed by paleontologists to be displayed in museums. Residents of Moenave regularly offer guided tours of the area and are very knowledgeable of the different species that once trekked their land.
References
{{Coconino County, Arizona
Populated places in Coconino County, Arizona