Riley Black

Riley Black is the author of the books The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and more. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Inside the Legacy of Old Ephraim and “Outlaw Animals"

Carnivores aren’t welcome in the West, but their ghosts are

By Riley Black January 12, 2022

In this story: wildlife

Don't Let Them See You Cry

A paleontology writer’s experience of gendering—and misgendering—in the backcountry

By Riley Black November 30, 2021

In this story: gender

Public Lands Preserve More Than What's on the Surface

Inside a paleontology quest through Grand Staircase–Escalante and Deep Time

By Riley Black June 21, 2021

In this story: public lands

Bright illustration shows a female hiker walking through curvy redrock.

You Need This Crust

A guide to properly adoring microbiotic soils

By Riley Black January 9, 2021

In this story: science

A desert landscape with red mesas in the background, and small terra-cotta circles around segments of the desert.

The Utah Monolith Is Just the Latest Tale of Desert Trash

One Utahn’s take on the unsettling patterns behind the monoliths

By Riley Black December 19, 2020

In this story: public lands

A Search for Fossils Unearths a New Life

It felt like a test—how badly did I want this?

By Riley Black May 4, 2020

In this story: hiking

Illustration shows a person walking in Monument Valley. The center of the valley is overlaid by the torso of a person, with their head as part of the clouds.

In Neil Shubin's New Book, Everyone's a Time Capsule

"Some Assembly Required" takes the evolutionary long view

By Riley Black March 7, 2020

In this story: books

Tracking Dinosaur Stomping Grounds

Jurassic footsteps lie among the wonders outside Moab, Utah

By Riley Black July 27, 2019

In this story: travel