 Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway | |
|---|---|
 Dinosaur Diamond highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 486 mi[1] (782 km) |
| Existed | 2002–present |
| Component highways | |
| Major junctions | |
| East end |   US 50 /SH 340Grand Junction, Colorado |
| West end |   US 6 /US 191Price, Utah |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Utah,Colorado |
| Counties | UT:Carbon,Duchesne,Grand,Emery CO:Moffat,Rio Blanco,Garfield,Mesa |
| Highway system | |
| |
| |
TheDinosaur Diamond is a 486-mile (782 km)[1] scenic and historic byway loop through thedinosaurfossil ladenUinta Basin of the U.S. states ofUtah andColorado.[2] The byway comprises the following twoNational Scenic Byways:
The highway forms a diamond-shaped loop withvertices atMoab,Helper,Vernal andGrand Junction.
Notable features along the Dinosaur Diamond includeDinosaur National Monument, theFlaming Gorge National Recreation Area,Canyonlands National Park,Arches National Park,Natural Bridges National Monument,Colorado National Monument, and several national forests.
The path ofInterstate 70 (I‑70) in Colorado is derived from two previous highways,U.S. Highway 6 (US 6) andUS 40. US 40 was an original piece of theU.S. Highway system commissioned in 1926. The portion now numberedUS 6 came about in 1937 when the route overVail Pass was paved. The first route through the path of I-70 in Utah was theOld Spanish Trail, a trade route betweenSanta Fe, New Mexico, andLos Angeles, California. The trail was in common use before theMexican–American War in 1848.
The following Colorado routes are included in the Colorado portion of the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic and Historic Byway:[1]
I-70 betweenGrand Junction and the Utah state line. (I-70 runsconcurrently withUS 6 andUS 50 in this area)
US 40 betweenDinosaur and the Utah state line
SH 64 between Dinosaur andRangely
SH 139 betweenFruita and RangelyThe easternmost starting point of the Dinosaur Diamond (DD) begins in Grand Junction, Colorado, on I-70.[1] In the vicinity of Grand Junction are theWhite River,Uncompahgre, andGrand Mesa National Forests.[6] Other notable features nearby include thePowderhorn Resort, and the geologic features ofBook Cliffs andGrand Mesa.
Traveling about 10 miles (16 km) westbound on I-70 will lead to Fruita, a small town within view of theColorado National Monument,[6] which features numerous scenic hiking trails. From the trails, one may view attractions such as the Book Cliffs and Coke Ovens overlooks, and unique rock formations such as Independence Monument and the "Kissing Couple".[7] Fruita is also the home ofMike the Headless Chicken, and hosts an annual festival in his honor every May. A small statue dedicated to Mike can also be seen in the town.[8]
Just west of Fruita, the byway turns north onto SH-139, traveling 78 miles (126 km) to the next town of Rangely, and traversing theDouglas Pass.[6] Nearby attractions include the Rangely Outdoor Museum and theCañon Pintado ("painted canyon") Historic Districtpetroglyphs, which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[9][10]
The byway continues 18 miles (29 km) northwest on SH-64, to the small town of Dinosaur.[6] Nearby Dinosaur is the "crown jewel" of the DD, theDinosaur National Monument, which claims to be the most productiveJurassic Period dinosaur quarry in the world. The monument includes a walkway where visitors can view asandstone wall embedded with over 2,000 dinosaur bones, and watchpaleontologists chip away the sandstone to expose the fossilized dinosaur bones. Visitors can also see the preparation laboratory where dinosaurfossils are cleaned and preserved.[11]
Upon leaving Dinosaur, the DD continues west on US 40 and crosses the border into Utah.[6]
The Utah portion of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway is routed along these highways:[1]
I-70 between Colorado state line andCisco, again from Crescent Junction toGreen River (I-70 runs concurrently withUS 6 andUS 50 in this area)US 6 from Green River toHelperUS 40 fromVernal to Colorado state lineUS 191 fromMoab to Vernal
SR-128 from Cisco to Moab
_(Potash_Petroglyphs%2c_along_the_Colorado_River%2c_eastern_Utah%2c_USA)_9_(22851794891).jpg)
Traveling 34 miles (55 km) west of Dinosaur, Colorado, the Dinosaur Diamond encounters the small city of Vernal, Utah. Vernal borders the western end of the Dinosaur National Monument; other notable attractions nearby includeSteinaker State Park,Red Fleet State Park,Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, and theAshley National Forest.[6]
Continuing along the Dinosaur Diamond, US 40 and US 191 converge within Vernal, heading west for 30 miles (48 km) to the city ofRoosevelt. Roosevelt is located on the edge of theUintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. Heading 29 miles (47 km) to the west is thecounty seat ofDuchesne, located within the reservation. Nearby Duchesne areFred Hayes State Park at Starvation[6] andKings Peak (the highest point in Utah), which is part of the Uinta Mountain range. TheUinta Mountains are one of the few mountain ranges in thecontiguous United States which run east–west, and are the highest range to do so.[12]
Within Duchesne, US 40 and US 191 diverge, and the DD continues 55 miles (89 km) south along US 191 over an unnamedmountain pass, through the small town of Helper, and into the larger city ofPrice. The numerous attractions surrounding Price includeCollege of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum,[13]Manti-La Sal National Forest,Huntington Lake State Park,Scofield State Park,[6] andNinemile Canyon which features numerous petroglyphs.[14] Also nearby is theCleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, a prehistoric mud trap which claims to be the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils in the world.[15]
Traveling 63 miles (101 km) southeast along US 191, the DD encounters the city of Green River.[6] Notable features surrounding Green River include theSan Rafael Swell,[16]Green River State Park, andGoblin Valley State Park.[6] Also nearby isCrystal Geyser, a rare (but man-made) cold water geyser caused by the expansion of carbonized "soda pop" water within.[17] Within Green River, US 191 converges with I-70 for a short while and diverges again, south towards the city of Moab, 55 miles (89 km) from Green River.
Just south of the junction of US 191 and SR-128, the city of Moab features a number of nearby attractions.Arches National Park,Canyonlands National Park,Dead Horse Point State Park,[6] and theNewspaper Rock[18] andPotash Road petroglyphs.[19]
Leaving Moab, the DD continues north along SR-128 to its terminus with I-70 in Cisco. Traveling east along I-70, before completing the "diamond" back in Grand Junction, Colorado.[6]
The segment within Colorado was designated the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic and Historic Byway by the Colorado Transportation Commission in 1997. The segment within Utah was designated the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway by theUtah State Legislature in 1998. The highway was approved as aNational Scenic Byway in 2002.[1]
National Scenic Byways must go through a nomination procedure, and must already be designated as a statescenic byway in order to be nominated (However, roads that meet all criteria and requirements for national designation but not state or designation criteria may be considered for national designation on a case-by-case basis).[20]
To be considered for designation "a road or highway must significantly meet at least one of the six scenic byways intrinsic qualities". The qualities are scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archeological, or recreational. A "corridor management plan" must also be developed, with community involvement, and the plan "should provide for the conservation and enhancement of the byway's intrinsic qualities as well as the promotion of tourism and economic development". The final step is when the highway (or highways) is approved for designation by theSecretary of Transportation.[20]
The path of I-70 in Colorado is derived from two previous highways,US 6 andUS 40. US 40 was an original piece of theU.S. Highway system commissioned in 1926. The portion now numbered US 6 came about in 1937 when the route overVail Pass was paved. A portion of this route was also numberedUS 24 at the time.[21]
In the 1920s, SH-139 was an unimproved road from US 6 at Fruita north to SH-64 in Rangely.[22]
The first route through this portion of Utah was theOld Spanish Trail, a trade route betweenSanta Fe, New Mexico andLos Angeles, California. The trail was in common use before theMexican–American War in 1848.[23] Although the trail serves a different route than I-70, they were both intended to connect southern California with points further east. I-70 generally parallels the route of the Old Spanish Trail west of Crescent Junction.[24]
TheUtah State Road Commission took over US 40 from Kimball Junction to Colorado in 1910 and 1911,[25] and assigned the SR-6 designation to this route by the mid-1920s.[26] In late 1926, theAmerican Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) assigned the designation of US 40 to this cross-state route, consisting of most of SR-4 and all of SR-6.[27] (The SR-6 designation remained until the1977 renumbering; SR-4 becameSR-2 in 1962 and was eliminated in favor ofI-80 in 1977.)
The road connectingColton onSR-8 (US 50, now US 6) withSR-6 (US 40) inDuchesne became a state highway in 1910. The southwest end was moved from Colton toCastle Gate in 1912,[28] and in 1927 it was numbered State Route 33.[29] Few changes were made to the roadway, and in 1981 it became part of US 191.[28]
Access between Moab and Castle Valley was originally via apack trail called the Heavenly Stairway. This trail, named for a dramatic descent of over 1,000 feet (300 m), was described as beautiful, but difficult to navigate.[30] Isolated from Utah's population centers, this area depended onGrand Junction and other cities in Colorado for both everyday supplies and a market for agricultural products.[31] Moab residents pushed for a road to be built along the riverbank. By 1902, the trail was replaced with a toll road, called King's Toll Road, after Samuel King. King was an early settler who also operated the tollferry used prior to the construction of theDewey Bridge. Rocks inscribed with "Kings Toll Road" can still be found along the roadway. While the road did improve travel, it was not built high enough above the river level and was often flooded.[30]
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33. From Castle Gate northeasterly to Duchesne.
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