Dinosaur, Pterosaur and Bird Footprint Fossil Site in Uhang-ri, Haenam

Dinosaur, Pterosaur and Bird Footprint Fossil Site in Uhang-ri, Haenam, Cretaceous strata exposed after seawall construction

This fossil site is on the coast of Uhang-ri, about 20 km west of Haenam-eup toward Jindo. It was originally a shore on the south side of Haenam Bay, but when the Geumho Seawall linking the Hwawon Peninsula and Mokpo was built, the water level dropped and exposed the strata at the edge of the freshwater lake. The strata are thought to have formed in the Mesozoic Cretaceous, about 83,000,000–85,000,000 years ago, and they run about 5 km along the coast.

Dinosaur, Pterosaur and Bird Footprint Fossil Site in Uhang-ri, Haenam, dinosaur, pterosaur, and bird footprints from one layer

Excavations and academic research in 1996–1998 confirmed 514 dinosaur footprints, 443 pterosaur footprints and about 1,000 bird footprints. Two species of the world's oldest webbed bird footprints and Asia's first pterosaur footprints were found in the same layer, making it the first case to show that dinosaurs, pterosaurs and birds lived together in one habitat.

Dinosaur, Pterosaur and Bird Footprint Fossil Site in Uhang-ri, Haenam, the world's largest pterosaur footprints and rare sedimentary structures

The pterosaur footprints here are of the pterodactyloid type and are the largest in the world in both foot size and number of footprints. The previous record site had a little over 30, while 443 were found here. Rarely preserved sedimentary structures, such as intraformational deformation structures, flame structures, and syneresis cracks, also remain, so the site is used for geology education.

Source: Haenam County Culture and Tourism