Description
This Natural Monument of the Dynosaur Footprints of Santisteban del Puerto transports to those who visit him to a very remote past, when man still did not walk on earth. Located one kilometre from the city centre of Santisteban del Puerto, the district of El Condado, it is one of the two icnite sites located in Andalusia.
In this paleontological field there are a series of 24 tracks up to nine centimeters deep belonging to the Triassic bipedic dinosaurs. Prints on red clays, possibly belonging to the Arcosauri group, are more than 230 million years old. It is a very enigmatic field, since the almost parallel placement of the fingers and above all the central finger shorter than the two sides, make them, for now, unique in the world.
These tracks, also known as icnites, are not easy to locate, because for their formation there have to be several environmental conditions. Among them, the material on which these animals walked was different from the material on which it was later deposited. Almost certainly, these prints were printed on sediments of a river bed or lagoon to, later, be covered by some other material that allowed it to be preserved until today.
The shape of the prints reveals that these dinosaurs were walking on two legs, with movements similar to those of a kangaroo. You can even know data such as its approximate size and weight, age and social habits. The arrangement of the 24 icnites in the same direction suggests the scene of a group of animals heading to some particular place.
The remains of pollen or vegetation, also fossilized, reveal environmental conditions very different from the present ones, where the vegetation was made up of coniferous, palm and ferns, which were encouraged by a warmer and damp climate than the present.
In the place a kind of cabin has been raised that protects them from unnecessary wear. A metal sculpture that reminds the "owner" of the prints has also been placed next to the prints. It should be mentioned that in the vicinity there are also interesting cave paintings, such as the Apolinary Cave dating from the Copper Age; all of them are very similar to those found in the nearby natural spaces of Despeñacolos and La Cimbarra.
More information by phone: 953 368 800
