Serra de Aire Dinosaur Tracks

In 1994 quarrying at Pedreira do Galinha exposed a bedding plane that turned out to be a Middle Jurassic tidal flat, and on it were sauropod trackways of exceptional length and clarity - individual sequences running well over a hundred metres, with more than twenty trackways in total and around a thousand footprints, made around 175 million years ago by large long-necked dinosaurs walking across wet carbonate mud. They are among the longest sauropod trackways recorded anywhere. The surface has since been tilted by earth movement, so visitors walk on a slope looking at prints made on a level flat. Quarrying was stopped and the site classified as a natural monument, with a visitor centre, walkways and interpretation. It sits inside the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros park, karst country of limestone pavement, dry valleys and caves.

The landscape

• The trackways - sauropod sequences running over a hundred metres.
• The scale - more than twenty trackways and around a thousand prints.
• The tilt - a Jurassic tidal flat now sloping after later earth movement.
• The rescue - a working quarry stopped and classified after the 1994 discovery.

When to go

Year-round. One to two hours. Low sun in the morning or late afternoon shows the prints in far better relief than midday.

What to expect

In flat overhead light the prints are genuinely hard to make out - timing matters more here than at most sites. The walkway is exposed with no shade. Closed on some days; check before travelling. Interpretation is better in Portuguese than English.

Nearby

Fátima is close; the Mira de Aire caves are elsewhere in the same park.