by Olivier Acuña Barba •Published: May 19, 2025•18:15•2 minutes read
Deep in the lush forests of Alberta, Canada, there is a prehistoric scene that has been stricken by scientists for decades. Charmingly dubbed “The River of Death,” Pipeston Creek features a tomb of jaw-dropping public, where thousands of Pacilinosaurus bones are packed into one place, as if they had turned the corner or gathered there, for the threat they had put everything at risk.
These horned Triceratops-like giants met at the end thanks to a team led by Professor Emily Bamforth. According to a BBC report, their work, featured in the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs series, freezes the layers of devastating days over time.
Discovered in 1974 by local teacher Al Laxta, the bone bed extends to kilometres with up to 300 bones per square meter in several spots. This is the 8,000 fossils collected so far, ranging from small boys to adults, all from single species to adults.
They weighed about 2 tons
Five meters long and weighing two tons, these plant-eating beasts featured bone ruffles and distinctive nose bulges. Bamforth’s team wielded sledgehammers to break the rocks, discovering hips, ribs and toe bones, each of which are clue from a herd that roamed the warm, green Alberta in the late Cretaceous period.
The density density covering the area of the size of a tennis court so far makes this one of the largest bone beds in North America.
Therefore, scientists are trying to determine what killed the giant of Millennelly. According to some theories that some scientists consider, the evidence refers to flash floods in proportions of the Bible.
Imagine a flock moving north for summer and munch on delicious nutrient vegetation when a horrific hurricane storm forces them to unleash rapids from the mountains and concentrate in one area they believed could survive the vast watery sands.
Was wiped out in one brutal event
The swirling sediments of rocks and messy bones have swept everything, telling stories of fast moving water, rocks, rocks, and superior dinosaurs.
Bamforth says their pure numbers and bulky builds didn’t have a chance for them. It was a snapshot of devastation, swept away by one brutal event between the old and young of the herd.
Nearby, Deadfall Hills offers more clues. There is no need to dig here. Hike through the thick forest and walk across the river to find Edmontosaurus bones, like vertebrae and teeth, scattered along the coast.
These 10-meter duck-claimed dinosaurs share an ecosystem, and their fossils help to paint pictures of a vibrant, prehistoric world.
At the Philip J. Curry Dinosaur Museum, where Bamforce and collection manager Jackson Swader work, the large Pacilinosaurus skulls, known as “Big Sam” (losing one horn), reveal individual quirks, shedding light on how these creatures lived and grew.
