Portugal is well-known for its collection of dinosaur fossils. In fact, the town of Lourinhã is well known as “Dinosaur Town.” Fossil hunters often scour the coast around Lourinha and find treasures.
There are a number of sites around the country where fossils can be visited – usually ichnofossils or “trace fossils” (in Portuguese, icnofosseis) which are the fossilized record of an animal rather than the animal itself. Dinosaur footprints (in Portuguese, pegadas de dinossaurios) abound! (Many fossils are, of course, excavated and displayed in museums.)
You can search for specific sites in the map at the right (highlighted map markers indicate sites that are described on this website), or browse through the entries below. (More posts are added as they get visited!)
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Dinosaur Footprints of Praia Santa
Stand on the rock ledge as the waves crash beneath you. The strange holes in the rock ledge weren’t created by an accident of geology. They are the footprints that a dinosaur made, a hundred million years ago. Careful: don’t let the yawning chasm of time make you dizzy, or you’ll fall into the sea…
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Dinosaur Footprints of Praia da Salema
Standing on the huge rock slab, you can see most of the beach. People walking up and down, leaving footprints that get washed away by the waves. Down at your feet, marvel at the footprints that won’t get washed away. They’ve lasted millions of years, and will no doubt still be there long after you…
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Neanderthal footprints
Sit on the edge of the cliff, looking out to sea. The wind blows in your face while the sun warms your back. Watch people walking along the beach. Watch fishermen walking along the cliffs. Then look down at the sandstone sheet below you. The marks in the stone are the footprints left by people…