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Como Bluff
Como
Bluff Fossil Cabin Page
Located approximately 10
miles East of Medicine Bow lies one of the world's
most renowned dinosaur fossil sites. (The original
dig site is not the Dinosaur Fossil Cabin Museum,
rather the dig site on the ridge behind, where
historical dinosaur fossils were found.) Discovered
by personnel who worked for the nearby Union
Pacific Railroad and first excavated in 1878 the
site yielded the remains of over a dozen different
species of these fascinating creatures. The giant
Diplodocus, the largest animal ever unearthed until
recently, was removed from the Como Bluff site. Its
huge skeleton stands today in the New York Museum
of Natural History. The Diplodocus was 72 feet
long, 22 feet high and estimated to weigh between
50 and 70 tons. Once discovered, paleontologists
from around the world descended upon the high
Wyoming plain to recover and reclaim bones from
dozens of giant reptiles which had lay hidden for
50 million years. Excavations resulted in 26 new
species of Dinosaur, many with complete or nearly
complete skeletons, and 45 new species of Jurassic
mammals. The site became know as the Dinosaur
Graveyard because of the number and variety of
fossils in the area. Skeletons from Como Bluff
reside in museums around the
world.
The dig sites are
obscured by over 100 years of Wyoming wind and
weather, but the general area can be seen from the
County Road nearby. Visitors are urged not to
attempt to drive off of the County Road unless they
have permission from the nearby landowner and also
for their own safety. This is a primitive,
unimproved area and home to the Diamondback
Rattlesnake.
The Como Bluff dig site
is currently closed to the public. We are currently
working to have this area reopened, and will list
any changes here.
Nearby the
site, the Como
Bluff Fossil Cabin
Museum sits
alongside of U.S. Highway 30 and is an ideal stop
for the traveler who wishes to learn more about the
early Como Bluff excavations. The Fossil Cabin
Museum is unique in itself, as it is the only
building in the world constructed entirely of
Dinosaur Bone. (See Fossil Cabin Museum page). Be
sure and make this stop a part of your itinerary
when traveling southern
Wyoming - even if the museum is not open, the cabin is worth stopping to look at.
Como Bluff as seen from a ranch road on the Medicine Bow side of the Bluff, during a recent winter.
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