R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, The city of Glen Rose in Somervell County is located

 1-2     near one of the most significant prehistoric finds of the 20th

 1-3     century; and

 1-4           WHEREAS, In the Paluxy River a series of remarkable dinosaur

 1-5     tracks, which were first found in 1903 but largely ignored until

 1-6     Roland T. Bird of the American Museum of Natural History fully

 1-7     unearthed them in 1938, depict in limestone the attack of a large

 1-8     carnosaur on a massive sauropod; and

 1-9           WHEREAS, During the Cretaceous Period, the two behemoths,

1-10     which paleontological evidence suggests to be a meat-eating

1-11     Acrocanthosaurus and a herbivorous Pleurocoelus, engaged in a life

1-12     and death struggle across the mud flats of what is now the  Paluxy

1-13     River; and

1-14           WHEREAS, Appropriately named the Glen Rose Trackway, the

1-15     footprints were of singular importance because they portrayed not

1-16     only anatomical features of the two dinosaurs but also the dramatic

1-17     way in which they interacted; and

1-18           WHEREAS, The trackway was of such scientific value that, when

1-19     fully excavated, portions of it were transported to the Texas

1-20     Memorial Museum in Austin and the American Museum of Natural

1-21     History in New York for display; and

1-22           WHEREAS, In addition to the primary trackway, other

1-23     footprints have been discovered in the Glen Rose area, and although

1-24     their origin remains unclear, they are suspected to belong to a

 2-1     dinosaur from the ornithopod family; and

 2-2           WHEREAS, Dinosaur Valley State Park was created at Glen Rose

 2-3     to preserve these wonders; in addition to the dinosaur footprints,

 2-4     the park also boasts campsites, picnicking, hiking, an

 2-5     amphitheater, and colossal replicas of Tyrannosaurus Rex and

 2-6     Apatosaurus donated by the Atlantic Richfield Company; and

 2-7           WHEREAS, Dinosaurs have long held a special place in the

 2-8     public mind, and the Glen Rose Trackway and other fossils at

 2-9     Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose are a unique and vivid link

2-10     to the Lone Star State's prehistoric past that truly merits special

2-11     legislative recognition; now, therefore, be it

2-12           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

2-13     Legislature hereby recognize the City of Glen Rose as the dinosaur

2-14     capital of Texas.

                                                                  Wohlgemuth

                                             _______________________________

                                                   Speaker of the House

               I certify that H.R. No. 1299 was adopted by the House on May

         31, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House