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Geology News
South Dakota Current Events

In 1998 a nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex was excavated north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, on leased land. Since then, ownership of the fossil has been in dispute. Was the lease valid or were the fossil hunters trespassing when they removed the fossil? Its finally going to court.

USBM Image

From the article: “His methods have upset numerous academics, but Larson has become the world’s most successful dealer in the bones of Tyrannosaurus rex and countless other prehistoric specimens retrieved from the great western plains of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. Ten years after his release from a federal prison when he fought off damaging allegations of bone-stealing, Larson is riding a new palaeontology boom.”

USGS Image

USGS has released a fact sheet that contains interesting maps and data documenting water level declines in the High Plains Aquifer. This important aquifer underlies over 100 million acres in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Water levels in the aquifer have been in decline since it was first tapped for irrigating crops. Enormous declines - often over 150 feet (pre-development to 2005) - have been measured in many areas. This is a short report in .pdf format and worth a look just to see the maps. Reference: USGS Fact Sheet 2007-3029, Changes in Water Levels and Storage in the High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment to 2005.