Knowing where to look is a combination of research and fieldwork. We start by deciding what age dinosaurs we want to look for and where we want to go.

Geologic maps tell us the ages of rock and whether it was formed on land (terrestrial) or in the ocean (marine). The 1997 Niger Expedition searched for dinosaurs that lived at the end of the dinosaur age (Late Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago) in terrestrial rocks.

Geographic maps (the kind you’re probably familiar with) tell us if the area we want to go is covered by a city or a forest or a lake or a desert. We especially like unpopulated areas that are dry because dryness preserves the bones.

Reports from other scientists help us to know if there are fossils in the area and tell us about what other people have found there. Once we get to the research area it’s up to us to cover as much ground as we can and keep a close look out for interesting fossils