The Geology of the Thermopolis Fossil Beds

The Warm Springs Ranch is located in the Big Horn Basin of northwest Wyoming. The fossil-bearing beds overlook the picturesque red hills at the northern end of the Wind River Canyon, about one mile east of Thermopolis, Wyoming. The rocks were deposited during the Jurassic period (see the Geologic Time Scale), and are part of what today is called the Morrison Formation. In addition to the significant dinosaur localities within the Morrison, the Warm Springs Ranch offers excellent outcroppings of Mesozoic strata in general.