New Jersey Fossil Park Unveils Cretaceous Treasure Revealing Dinosaur Extinction Details
A former quarry behind a strip mall in Mantua Township has been transformed into the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, showcasing a sediment layer that records the immediate aftermath of the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs.
Ken Lacovara, famed for the Dreadnoughtus discovery, turned a modest quarry behind a Lowe's and Chick-fil-A in Mantua Township into a world-class research site and public museum. His team recovered upwards of 100,000 fossils representing more than 100 species, along with iridium deposits that mark the asteroid strike. The sediment layer captures a 10.3-magnitude quake, a second shock fifteen minutes later, and a rapid temperature rise that likely killed dinosaurs within an hour, followed by a 130-foot tsunami that created the bonebed studied today.
The Edelman Fossil Park & Museum now opens to the public, offering hands-on digging experiences and climate-change education. Lacovara hopes the site will inspire visitors to reflect on past mass extinctions and modern environmental challenges. The park’s motto, “Discover the past, protect the future,” underscores its dual scientific and advocacy mission.
Why it matters
The site provides unprecedented insight into the asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs and links past extinction to today’s climate crisis.
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