Flaming Cliffs Explained

The Flaming Cliffs site (also known as Bayanzag (Chinese: 巴彥扎格), Bain-Dzak or Bayn Dzak)^[1] (Mongolian: Баянзаг rich in saxaul), with the alternative Mongolian name of Mongolian: Улаан Эрэг (red cliffs), is a region of the Gobi Desert in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia, in which important fossil finds have been made. It was given this name by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, who visited in the 1920s. The area is most famous for yielding the first discovery of dinosaur eggs. Other finds in the area include specimens of Velociraptor^[2] and eutherian mammals.^[3] It exposes rocks of the Djadochta Formation. It is illegal to remove fossils from the area without appropriate permits.^[4]

The nickname refers to the red or orange color of the sandstone cliffs (especially at a sunset).^[5]

Dinosaur bones/fossils

The following are dinosaur fossils that have been found in the Flaming Cliffs.

Theropods

• Maniraptorans: Archaeornithoides, Velociraptor, Saurornithoides, Oviraptor

Ornithischians

• Ceratopsians: Protoceratops
• Ankylosaurids

Pinacosaurus

Further reading

• Carpenter, Kenneth (1999) Eggs, nests, and baby dinosaurs: a look at dinosaur reproduction Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana,
• Colbert, Edwin Harris (1984) The great dinosaur hunters and their discoveries Dover, New York,
• Novacek, Michael J. (1997) Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs Anchor, New York,
• Novacek, Michael J.; Norell, Mark; McKenna, Malcolm C. and Clark, James (2004) "Fossils of the Flaming Cliffs" Dinosaurs and other Monsters (special edition of Scientific American 14(2):) Scientific American, New York,

44.1385°N 103.7278°W

Notes and References

1. Colbert, Edwin Harris (1984) The great dinosaur hunters and their discoveries Courier Dover, New York,page 210, ; revised edition of Men and Dinosaurs 1st edition 1968
2. Web site: Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs. dinosaurcollector.150m.com. 2010-12-16. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121226232745/http://www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com/flamecliff.htm. 2012-12-26.
3. Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia (1969) "Preliminary data on the Upper Cretaceous eutherian mammals from Bayn Dzak, Gobi Dert" Palaeontologia Polonica No. 19: pp. 171 - 206
4. Book: Mastsuura. general editor, Michael Bright ; preface by Koichiro. 1001 natural wonders : you must see before you die. 2010. Cassell Illustrated. London. 9781844036745. 625. 2009.
5. https://books.google.com/books?id=u1Y-51tTJ78C&q=Flaming+Cliffs&pg=PA296 Jane Blunden . Mongolia: the Bradt travel guide. 2008