The park is situated in the Red Deer River valley, which is noted for its striking badland topography, and abundance of dinosaur fossils.

The renowned fossil assemblage of nearly 500 species of life, from microscopic fern spores to large carnivorous dinosaurs, justified its becoming a World Heritage Site in 1979.

The park was established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on October 26, 1979 both for its nationally significant badlands and riverside riparian habitats, and for the international importance of the fossils found there.

This changed with the opening of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology 100 kilometres upstream in Midland Provincial Park adjacent to Drumheller.

Some of the most northern species of cactus, including Opuntia (prickly pear) and Pediocactus (pincushion) can be observed in full bloom during the later half of June.

The sediments exposed in the badlands at Dinosaur Provincial Park were laid down over a period of about 1.5 million years during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch, and belong to three different geologic formations.

They include: Ceratopsia Hadrosauridae Ankylosauria Hypsilophodontidae Pachycephalosauria Tyrannosauridae Ornithomimidae Caenagnathidae Paraves Classification Uncertain Birds such as Hesperornithiformes were present, as well as giant Pterosauria related to Quetzalcoatlus.