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Dinosaur National Monument
Photo of Dinosaur National Monument courtesy NPS

In his book, The Immense Journey, Loren Eisley wrote, "Once in a lifetime, perhaps, one escapes the actual confines of the flesh. Once in a lifetime, if one is lucky, one so merges with sunlight and air and running water that whole eons, the eons that mountains and deserts know, might pass in a single afternoon without discomfort."

This is Echo Park, named by John Wesley Powell in 1869 during his first scientific expedition into the Colorado Plateau. It is here that the Yampa River, the last natural flowing river in the Colorado River System, joins the Green River. This is home and critical habitat for the endangered peregrine falcon, bald eagle, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker. Indian rock art in Echo Park testifies to the allure these canyons and rivers had for prehistoric people. In 1825, William H. Ashley and his fur trappers were the first Europeans to enter Echo Park. In 1883, Patrick Lynch, a hermit, was the first to homestead in this canyon.

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Facilities available at Dinosaur National Monument:



Dinosaur National Monument website
Recreation Area Map
Park Email: DINO_Superintendent@nps.gov

Phone numbers
Headquarters 970-374-3000
Visitor Information 970-374-3000

Address
Dinosaur National Monument
4545 E. Highway 40
Dinosaur, CO 81610-9724