The New York Times has a story about the discovery of dinosaur footprints.  Severe drought conditions across the world are revealing secrets long covered by water.  Just outside of Fort Worth, Texas lies Dinosaur Valley State Park, where dinosaur footprints were recently found after the Paluxy River dried up.  The footprints date to about 113 million years ago and were made by a meat eating dinosaur called Acrocanthosaurus.

“Due to the excessive drought conditions this past summer, the river dried up completely in most locations, allowing for more tracks to be uncovered here in the park,” Ms. Garcia said in a statement. “Under normal river conditions, these newer tracks are under water and are commonly filled in with sediment, making them buried and not as visible.”

The tracks are likely to be buried again by rain this week. But the finding — even if for a brief moment — excited researchers and the public.

“Tracks being buried under layers of sediment do help protect them from natural weathering and erosion,” Ms. Garcia said.

Other tracks at Dinosaur Valley State Park belong to a sauropod, or long-necked, small-headed dinosaur, called Sauroposeidon proteles. This species would have stood 60 feet tall and weighed 44 tons as an adult.