How Many Dinosaurs Have Been Found in Washington?

Dinosaurs are always a popular topic whether or not there's a new Jurassic Park movie in theaters. Various shows come through town promising to take you back millions of years ago to the era of the dinosaur. There's a whole park in Granger, Washington filled with dinosaurs. Even millions of years after their extinction, dinosaurs are still king.

I've been thinking lately. Have any dinosaurs ever been found in Washington? I know there are multiple mammoth dig sites around the state as Columbian mammoths roamed throughout what we now call the Pacific Northwest. But there hasn't been much word on dinosaur findings. Why do you think that is?

Only one dinosaur fossil has been found in Washington ever.

The lone fossil was actually discovered recently, in 2015 when it was found on the shores of the San Juan Islands.

What kind of dinosaur was found in Washington?

Since the fossil was only part of a bone, paleontologists have done much work to fill in the blanks. It is believed to be part of a therapod's femur (T-rex belongs to this genus.) This fossil, found near Sucia Island of the San Juans, is nicknamed the Suciasaurus.

Did Suciasaurus live in what would become Washington?

No, it is generally believed Washington was underwater during this time. Unfortunately, no other dinosaur fossils have been discovered before or since the Suciasuarus' discovery in 2015.