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Drumheller AB: badlands, dinosaurs, oh my!

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(Relatively short drive from Calgary)

In south-central Alberta, a leisurely 1.5 to 2 hour drive northeast from Calgary takes me past trucks, farm equipment, drilling rigs; through undulating hills and open fields of grain.

Population at a touch under 9-thousand, the city straddles the gentle flow of the Red Deer River. I’m led here by the notable attractions, and integrated over a couple of days here, they do not disappoint.

“Welcome to Drumheller”: sign and pullout next to highway AB-9, on approach into town from the south. Photo, 25 Sep 2024.

Horseshoe Canyon

On the northeast drive from Calgary, I decide to stop here before entering Drumheller. I stretch my legs, munch on an apple, and get my first real look at the Badlands. Horseshoe Canyon provides a scenic introduction to the Badlands, only 15 driving minutes from town. There’s deception to the perception, but the height difference is at most about 40 metres (130 feet) from the parking or viewpoint “deck” to the canyon “floor” below.

Sioux: “makhosica” (bad land).

French: “des mauvaises terres à traverser” (bad lands to cross).

Spanish: “tierra baldía” (waste land).

There are black coal seams.
Stopped here before entering Drumheller. Photos, 25 Sep 2024.

Horsethief Canyon

The erosion is deeper, farther, and wider at this part of the Red Deer River. The expansive views are worth the short 20-minute drive northwest from town. A story from early colonial settlers is about how branded horses would seemingly disappear into the canyon, only to reappear with a different “brand”: brazen shenanigans with little patrol or consequence.

Across the Red Deer River. Photos, 27 Sep 2024.

Rosedale Suspension Bridge

Formerly used by employees of the Star Mine in 1931 to 1957, reconstruction in 1958, closed for repairs in 2020, and reopened to public in 2024.

I was tempted to swing wild and bounce boisterous, but there were other people on the bridge.
View northwest from bridge towards the former coal mine (right) on the east bank of the Red Deer River.
Photos, 27 Sep 2024.

Royal Tyrrell Museum

Fossils! Dinosaurs! Science!

For the science nerd in me, this museum is an absolute highlight. In the display panels, there are bits of physics, astrophysics, chemistry, geology, archaeology, field work and work tools, palaeontology, and evolutionary biology. Pushing every personal button the entire time, the experience is simply glorious. For added bonus, there’s also the adjacent Badlands Interpretive Trail outside.

Introduction.
Original fossil: Rhodophyte (red algae), age 374 to 391 million years: Devonian, Waterways Formation, Suncor Fort Hills Mine, Alberta.
Original fossil: Albertosaurus sarcophagus (early predecessor of tyrannosaurus), age about 71 million years: late Cretaceous, Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Dunphy, Alberta.
Original fossil: Osteoglossomorpha (bony fish), age 62 million years: early Paleocene, Porcupine Hills Formation, Calgary, Alberta.
Additional context with other fossil sites around the world. Four months previous in May, I visited the Messel Pit, just east of Darmstadt, Germany.
Cast + original fossil: Tyrannosaurus rex (rear), age 66 to 67 million years: late Cretaceous, Scollard Formation, Huxley, Alberta. Included for size comparison is a present-day human with a 21st-century mobile device.
Hall space with exhibits and visitors.
On my own, on the Badlands Interpretative Trail next to the museum, all inside Midland Provincial Park. Photos, 26 Sep 2024.

Willow Creek Hoodoos

“… Hoodoos are eroded pillars of soft sandstone rock, topped with a harder resilient cap. The cap protects the softer rock underneath from eroding as quickly as the surrounding rock. With deterioration of the cap, the pillar becomes increasingly exposed to the elements.” (Royal Tyrrell Museum)

Hoodoos in early-afternoon light.
Early signs of erosion and early hoodoo formation on the rest of the landscape.
Relative size: hoodoos versus hoomans.
Photos, 27 Sep 2024.

“World’s Largest Dinosaur”

Autumn in the air, even with +24C/75F for the high. Photo, 27 Sep 2024.
Standing 26-metres (85-feet) tall, this replica Tyrannosaurus rex is the “world’s largest dinosaur.” For $5, you can climb up and into T.rex’s mouth. Photo, 27 Sep 2024.

CapitalCity & DinoArts

D is for Drumheller, dinos, and deer. Photo, 28 Sep 2024.
“DINOLUV”. Photo, 25 Sep 2024.
Doe and her 2 fawns wandering through town, stopping at Miners Memorial Park for a grass break. Photo, 28 Sep 2024.
Drumheller Fire Department. Photo, 28 Sep 2024.
A welcome wall-poster in downtown Drumheller. Photo, 28 Sep 2024.

I made all photos above with an iPhone15 from 25 to 28 Sep 2024 inclusive. All descriptions and images are provided without request by or compensation from any external organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-tJi.

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