Welcome to the 646th meeting of the Rotary Club of Dixie Sunrise
Our meeting this morning was the 1st meeting of the 2009 – 2010 year. Our out-going President, Paul Gooch, and in-coming President, Marla Shelby-Drabner tag teamed the “hand-off” meeting. After a shared welcome and announcements, including a reminder of the Paul Harris Recognition and Changing of the Gavel
Dinner next Thursday Paul ceremoniously left the head table – taking Chantra with him – and returned to his old haunting ground, the Hog Table.
Our speakers today were Jon Christofferson, Director of the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and Dixie State College Intern Melissa Frederick. We learned that the St. George City operated site came about by the surprise discovery of Dr. Johnson in 2000 when in moving some earth on his farm the first dinosaur tracks were discovered which led to the interpretive museum opening in 2005. This increasingly popular location had over 34,000 visitors in 2008 and through June 1st of this year has had 24,000 visitors.
At the Discovery Site at Johnson Farm you will see some extraordinary and very rare dinosaur tracks and other evidence of an age between 195 – 198 million years ago. This age is at the beginning of what scientists call the Jurassic Period. During this time the land in this location was near sea level and much closer to the equator. Streams and lakes once covered portions of southern Utah and northwestern Arizona and deposited the rocks we see today.
The Site includes not only the common impression tracks found in other locations in this area, but also a large number of spectacular track natural casts. As the water around the shores of ancient Lake Dixie were receding, thick mud began to dry up. The animals came into the area to eat and drink, leaving their footprints in the mud to be preserved. Other dinosaurs walked on this new surface. Finally as the lake level rose, a thick bed of sand buried the preexisting surface. Over time, this sand hardened into stone and became the sandstone layer that we see today preserving the dinosaur track casts which were literally natural casts of dinosaur feet.
Please follow the attached link for more information about this fascinating piece of St. George History and be sure to add this to your list of “must sees” in the area.
Our meeting today concluded with a thank you round of applause for Paul and his team for a great year now completed.
Again, a reminder that our next meeting will be next Thursday EVENING! Dinner at 6:30 at the Abbey Inn. Hope to see you there!
Our meeting this morning was the 1st meeting of the 2009 – 2010 year. Our out-going President, Paul Gooch, and in-coming President, Marla Shelby-Drabner tag teamed the “hand-off” meeting. After a shared welcome and announcements, including a reminder of the Paul Harris Recognition and Changing of the Gavel
Dinner next Thursday Paul ceremoniously left the head table – taking Chantra with him – and returned to his old haunting ground, the Hog Table.Our speakers today were Jon Christofferson, Director of the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and Dixie State College Intern Melissa Frederick. We learned that the St. George City operated site came about by the surprise discovery of Dr. Johnson in 2000 when in moving some earth on his farm the first dinosaur tracks were discovered which led to the interpretive museum opening in 2005. This increasingly popular location had over 34,000 visitors in 2008 and through June 1st of this year has had 24,000 visitors.
At the Discovery Site at Johnson Farm you will see some extraordinary and very rare dinosaur tracks and other evidence of an age between 195 – 198 million years ago. This age is at the beginning of what scientists call the Jurassic Period. During this time the land in this location was near sea level and much closer to the equator. Streams and lakes once covered portions of southern Utah and northwestern Arizona and deposited the rocks we see today.
The Site includes not only the common impression tracks found in other locations in this area, but also a large number of spectacular track natural casts. As the water around the shores of ancient Lake Dixie were receding, thick mud began to dry up. The animals came into the area to eat and drink, leaving their footprints in the mud to be preserved. Other dinosaurs walked on this new surface. Finally as the lake level rose, a thick bed of sand buried the preexisting surface. Over time, this sand hardened into stone and became the sandstone layer that we see today preserving the dinosaur track casts which were literally natural casts of dinosaur feet.
Please follow the attached link for more information about this fascinating piece of St. George History and be sure to add this to your list of “must sees” in the area.
Our meeting today concluded with a thank you round of applause for Paul and his team for a great year now completed.
Again, a reminder that our next meeting will be next Thursday EVENING! Dinner at 6:30 at the Abbey Inn. Hope to see you there!
President Marla Shelby-Drabner
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