Dinosaurs once roamed Denver's City Park
The intrigue: The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, on the eastern edge of the park, announced Wednesday it unexpectedly discovered a partial-bone fossil 763 feet below the surface of its parking lot.
What they did: The discovery occurred when the museum conducted a drilling test this January to see if it could tap geothermal energy and took core samples down 1,000 feet into the ground.
What they found: Museum scientists later identified the fossil as part of a vertebra from a plant-eating dinosaur, similar to a Thescelosaurus or Edmontosaurus.
What they're saying: "In my 35 years at the museum, we've never had an opportunity quite like this — to study the deep geologic layers beneath our feet with such precision," Earth sciences research associate Bob Raynolds said in a statement. "That this fossil turned up here, in City Park, is nothing short of magical."
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