Dinosaur tracks site at Coisia

 
These tracks left behind by Sauropods (long-necked dinosaurs like Diplodocus), were discovered in 2004 during the widening of the main road.
These finds are of national scientific interest as this is the only preserved site of its period, the Tithonian, a period of the Jurassic era 150 million years ago.
At this time, the Jura had a tropical climate.  We must therefore imagine ourselves on a beach or lagoon (similar to the Bahamas today), instead of in the current village of Coisia.

There is no organised access. The site is on the edge of the road and is hazardous to pedestrians.  Therefore keep an eye on children and take great care!


INTERREG PROJECT
A partnership with the Republic and Canton of the Jura in Switzerland where major dinosaur track finds are currently being excavated on the route of the A16 motorway near Porrentruy, has given rise to a joint awareness project centred on the recent paleontolocial discoveries in the Jura mountains.
This project, part of the Interreg IIIA programme, is supported by the European Union. It was officially approved on 15 June 2006.
This unique project includes several public awareness initiatives:

- "PALEOMANIA: on the trail of the palaeontologists in the Jurassic Arc"
This is a trilingual travelling exhibition covering the recent paleontological discoveries in the Jura mountains.  It will start its tour in Switzerland in June 2007 and will arrive in the Department of the Jura in May 2008, ending up at the Fribourg museum in Switzerland in 2008-2009.

- A film "On the trail of the Jurassic dinosaurs" presents the researches concerning the dinosaur track sites, along the border between France and Switzerland.
6 short modules (3 to 6 minutes) will complete the exhibition presenting the various facets of palaeontology, from dig to the laboratory.

- A website www.lejurassique.com

- A teaching programme aimed at the children of the district community of Valous’Ain.

During the summer of 2006, this project also supported a geological study, casings and laser surveys of the Coisa site headed by Professor Pierre Hantzpergue director of  the department of Earth Sciences at the Claude Bernard University, Lyon 1.