Paleorrota (, also called rota paleológica, literally paleoroute in English), is a geopark located in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The rocks and fossils found along the route date back to the times when there was only one supercontinent Pangaea. The BR-287 is the main highway in the area and is called the Highway of Dinosaurs due to fossil localities crossing many municipalities of the region.
The Geopark takes up a vast area underlain by bedrock from the Permian and Triassic (290 to 210 million years ago). It comprises several paleontological sites within the rock formations Santa Maria, Caturrita, Sanga do Cabral, Rio do Rastro and Irati. These sites contain diverse vertebrate fossil assemblages. In the southwestern part of the geopark are found fossils that date back to the Permian, 280 million years ago.
Staurikosaurus was the first Brazilian dinosaur discovery, made by the paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in Santa Maria (Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco).
The city of Mata, together with the cities of São Pedro do Sul and Santa Maria, are founded on paleobotanical deposits. Within an area of more than 70 km² are several sites with petrified trees.
At the end of the Permian, 95% of life on Earth disappeared at the Permian–Triassic extinction. Fossil finds made in the region of Paleorrota have advanced the understanding of these the Triassic evolution of vertebrates. Some important fossils from the park include Staurikosaurus, one of the oldest saurischia species, Sacisaurus, possibly the oldest ornithischian, and Pelycosaurs. This group gave rise to the cynodonts, which in turn led to the mammals. The Geopark's fossils contribute greatly in the understanding of mammalian evolution.
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