A hundred million years ago, much of the territory that Western Digs covers was under water.

But a large slice of it was dry land — a mini-continent that stretched from central Mexico to Alaska’s Arctic shores.

Today scientists call it Laramidia, and it’s where most — but not all – of the stories on this list began.

Back then, the Great Plains and California were primordial seas, and the places we know today as Montana, Wyoming and Utah were lush, warm coastal zones.

That’s where a lot of the ancient action was — and it’s where we find the fossilized remains of Laramidia‘s inhabitants today.

But live has always and everywhere been diverse.

Out of our five most popular stories about the year’s paleontological discoveries, only some had to do with dinosaurs.

Others — both of the top two, in fact — are about two entirely different classes of animals, and one came along in much more recent geologic history.

If you’ve read these articles all already, then thanks for making this list possible*.

And if it’s all new to you, then welcome to the community of Western Digs. In either case, let this be the starting point for your journey back through 2013 — and beyond!

* The top five stories are based on pageviews over the calendar year. You’ll notice that the results don’t match our “Popular” tab on the right column, which has been on the fritz since we changed platforms in the fall. But we’ll fix it, with more exciting changes in the coming year!