Red Dead Redemption 2 Dinosaur Bones: All 30 Locations

A Test of Faith starts with a woman digging in the dirt southeast of Horseshoe Overlook. Deborah MacGuiness believes dinosaur bones are scattered across the country, and Arthur agrees to mail her the coordinates. She is right about the bones. Her idea of what they belonged to becomes a little more complicated.

There are 30 locations. Arthur can inspect 22 during the main story, while the final eight sit in New Austin and are intended for the epilogue. The bones are not missable, so there is no need to force the western route early or risk a long ride through locked territory.

How to Start A Test of Faith

Meet Deborah at the fossil site southeast of Horseshoe Overlook and east of Flatneck Station. After the conversation, each bone can be inspected in any order. Open the satchel after finding one and Arthur will have a recorded coordinate that can be mailed from any post office.

Use Eagle Eye whenever the terrain matches the location. A nearby bone glows yellow and produces a tall yellow column, which is much easier to see than the fossil itself. On cliffs, search above and below the road before assuming the marker is wrong. Many bones sit on a shelf that cannot be reached from the obvious side.

Mail coordinates in batches. Deborah sends the first reward after one location and another after 15, so waiting until all 30 only delays useful items. The post office also gives the hunt natural breaks instead of turning it into one long checklist.

Ambarino: Bones 1-6

• 1. Grizzlies West: Northwest of Valentine, cross the Dakota River and search the rock face beside the riverside trail.
• 2. South of Cotorra Springs: Reach the cliffs above the Dakota River, then look down for the lower ledge holding the fossil.
• 3. Northern Ambarino: Search the hill north of Grizzlies East, between the northern railway and road.
• 4. Donner Falls: Northeast of the falls, inspect the rock face behind the large boulders rather than climbing onto the summit.
• 5. O'Creagh's Run: The fossil is on a narrow cliff west of the lake. Approach on foot and check below the edge.
• 6. Eastern Ambarino border: Northeast of O'Creagh's Run, check the hill south of the railway near the New Hanover boundary.

Collect the Dakota River and Cotorra Springs sites together, then visit the eastern Ambarino bones. Save before cliff descents.

New Hanover: Bones 7-17

• 7. Bacchus Station: Climb the hill northeast of Fort Wallace and inspect the exposed rock near the top.
• 8. Cumberland Forest: Search the exposed ridge south of the map's "C" in Cumberland, above the dotted trail.
• 9. Valentine: Follow the Dakota River north of town and look on the high bank above the water.
• 10. Cumberland Falls: Southeast of Wallace Station, look for the fossil embedded in the rock wall beside the Dakota River.
• 11. Heartlands Oil Derrick: Climb down the ladder inside the derrick. The bone is underground at the bottom.
• 12. Southern Heartlands: Search the rocky ridges east of Flatneck Station and north of the road to Rhodes.
• 13. Heartlands Railroad: Check the raised ground north of the southern railway and east of the old trading post.
• 14. Roanoke Ridge: East of the gap between the first "O" and "A" in Roanoke, inspect the ridge beside small trees.
• 15. West of Van Horn: Search the ridge southwest of the stable, near the abandoned roadside buildings.
• 16. Elysian Pool: Climb the high ridge west of the Kamassa River and north of the pool.
• 17. Northern New Hanover: Look on the open ridge just south of the Ambarino line, below the small house in the hills.

The oil derrick bone is the one most players walk past. It is below ground, not on top of the structure. For the Roanoke locations, approach from the roads and climb only after Eagle Eye shows which level of the ridge holds the fossil.

Advertisement

Lemoyne and West Elizabeth: Bones 18-22

• 18. Dewberry Creek West: Search the dry creek bed and exposed bank west of the abandoned settlement.
• 19. Dewberry Creek North: Follow the creek north toward the state line and inspect the pale rock beside the channel.
• 20. Big Valley Cave: Enter the cave northwest of Wallace Station, close to the southern edge of Grizzlies West.
• 21. Big Valley Rocky Slope: Follow the dotted mountain trail through the West Elizabeth lettering. The bone lies directly on the path.
• 22. Beryl's Dream: Inspect the cliff at the old mine west of Mount Shann. The bone sits on an exposed ledge.

These five fit neatly into normal travel. The Dewberry Creek pair are close to early story routes, and the Big Valley bones can be combined with hunting around Wallace Station and Owanjila. After number 22, the remaining fossils require access to New Austin.

New Austin: Bones 23-30

• 23. Hennigan's Stead: Search the canyon wall west of MacFarlane's Ranch, above the road through the rocks.
• 24. San Luis River: Ride along the southern shoreline and inspect the exposed bank near the river bend.
• 25. Rio Del Lobo Rock: Look below the clifftop for an intermediate ledge above the San Luis River.
• 26. Rio Bravo: Search the hill south of the "B" in the Rio Bravo map label.
• 27. Jorge's Gap: Search the hill immediately west of the gap, where the bone is partly covered by grass.
• 28. Rattlesnake Hollow: Inspect the side of the rock formation; this fossil is embedded in the wall.
• 29. Gaptooth Ridge: Reach the hilltop from its northern approach, then search near the cliff edge.
• 30. Tumbleweed North: Climb the hill north of town using the path on its northern side. Inspect the cliff edge.

Collect these in a clockwise loop from Hennigan's Stead through Rio Bravo, Cholla Springs, and Gaptooth Ridge. New Austin has fewer trees blocking the view, but several bones blend into pale rock. Eagle Eye is still more reliable than looking for a large skeleton.

Every Dinosaur Bone Reward

Mail the first coordinate and Deborah sends a Quartz Chunk. It is one of the materials needed to craft the Bear Claw Talisman at a Fence. After 15 mailed locations, she sends the Skull Statue, a display piece with no practical perk.

Once all 30 coordinates have been mailed, wait for Deborah's invitation and visit her at Firewood Rise, northeast of Valentine. The final scene reveals what she built from the discoveries, and the quest ends with the Jawbone Knife. The knife is a unique melee weapon, so pick it up before leaving.

What Counts Toward 100 Percent

The Total Completion menu requires all 30 Dinosaur Bones and the final step of A Test of Faith. Finding the last fossil is not enough by itself. Mail every coordinate, read the invitation, and return to Deborah so the stranger strand closes properly.

Nothing in the hunt expires. Players can collect the 22 eastern bones as Arthur, ignore the list for dozens of hours, and finish the New Austin route in the epilogue. The cleanest plan is to grab nearby bones during the story, mail them whenever a post office is close, and save the final western loop for one focused ride.