Following is a list of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s where

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s are preserved, known as fossil parks or fossil reserves, worldwide by country.

Africa

Egypt

Wadi Al-Hitan - Valley of The Whales, Fayyoum, Western Desert

South Africa

West Coast Fossil Park,

Langebaanweg Langebaanweg is a town on the southwest coast of South Africa, in Western Cape Province. It is the location of the air force base AFB Langebaanweg. Langebaanweg has been an important mining center, with its main minerals consisting of phosphor ...

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

Tanzania

Asia

India

There are two geological parks maintained by the

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

: *

Shivalik Fossil Park Shivalik Fossil Park, also known as the Suketi Fossil Park , is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument Mandla Plant Fossils National Park Ghughua Fossil Park is a National Park, located near Shahpura, Dindori, Shahpura in Madhya Pradesh, India, in which plant fossils belonging to 31 genera of 18 families have been identified. The site was founded during the 1970s by Dr. Dhar ...

Japan

Sendai City Tomizawa Site Museum The is an archaeology museum in the city of Sendai in northern Japan that preserves a Petrified wood, fossilized forest, where the remains of human habitation that occurred 20,000 years ago were discovered during surveying work in 1988. The mu ...

houses a fossilized forest and human artifacts

Thailand

Australia

Victoria

Dinosaur Dreaming Dinosaur Dreaming is a palaeontology, paleontological site situated near Inverloch, Victoria, Inverloch, Victoria, Australia. Remains of primitive mammals from the Cretaceous Age were first uncovered there in 1997 by researchers from Museum Victor ...

Dinosaur Cove The Dinosaur Cove in Victoria, Australia is a fossil-bearing site in the south-east of the continent where the Otway Ranges meet the sea to the west of Cape Otway, adjacent to Great Otway National Park (''map''). The inaccessible ocean-front c ...

Queensland

* Riversleigh

South Australia

* Lake Callabonna Fossil Reserve *

Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area __NOTOC__ The Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area is a group of fossil sites located in the Australian state of South Australia within the Tirari Desert in the north-eastern part of the state's Far North region. The group has an ...

* Maslin Bay -

Aldinga Bay Aldinga Bay is a bay located on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia about south-southwest of Adelaide city centre. Extent & description Aldinga Bay lies between Snapper Point in the suburb of Aldinga Beach at its northern ex ...

Geological Site *

Naracoorte Caves National Park Naracoorte Caves National Park is a national park near Naracoorte, South Australia, Naracoorte in the Limestone Coast tourism region in the south-east of South Australia (Australia). It was officially recognised in 1994 for its extensive fossil ...

Nilpena Ediacara National Park __NOTOC__ Nilpena Ediacara National Park, which includes the former Ediacara Conservation Park, is a protected area located in the northern Flinders Ranges, in the state of South Australia. It is located about around north of Adelaide city cent ...

* Willalinchina Sandstone Fossil Flora site, near Woomera

North America

Canada

Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre
Saskatchewan *

Dinosaur Provincial Park Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated 220 kilometres (137 mi) east of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; or northeast of Brooks. The park is situated in the Red Deer River valley, which is noted for its striking badland topo ...

, Alberta *

Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park covers of the Bulkley River Valley, on the east side of Driftwood Creek, a tributary of the Bulkley River, 10 km northeas ...

, British Columbia *

Yoho National Park Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordere ...

(

Burgess Shale The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At old (middle Cambrian), it is one of the earliest fos ...

) UNESCO site, British Columbia *

Joggins Fossil Cliffs Joggins is a rural community located in western Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. On July 7, 2008 a 15-km length of the coast constituting the Joggins Fossil Cliffs was officially inscribed on the World Heritage List.McAbee Fossil Beds The McAbee Fossil Beds is a Heritage Site that protects an Eocene Epoch fossil locality east of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada, just north of and visible from Provincial Highway 97 / the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1). The McAbee ...

Heritage Site * Parc national de Miguasha UNESCO site, Quebec

United States

Arizona

Petrified Forest National Park Petrified Forest National Park is a national park of the United States in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the park covers about , encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as wel ...

California

La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits comprise an active Paleontological site, paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural Bitumen, asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' ...

Petrified Forest Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...

, Calistoga CA

Colorado

Dinosaur National Monument Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green River (Colorado River tributary), Green and Yampa River, Y ...

, in Northwest Colorado and North-East Utah. *

Dinosaur Ridge Dinosaur Ridge is a segment of the Dakota Hogback in the Morrison Fossil Area National Natural Landmark located in Jefferson County, Colorado, near the town of Morrison, Colorado, Morrison and just west of Denver. In 1877 Arthur Lakes, a clerg ...

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones an ...

Connecticut

Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum is a state-owned natural history preserve occupying in the town of Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The state park protects one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. The park was created in recognition ...

Florida

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is a Florida State Park located at mile marker 85.5 on US 1 near Islamorada. It was a former quarry used by Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an A ...

Idaho

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is a Pliocene-age site near Hagerman, Idaho, Hagerman, Idaho. The Monument is internationally significant because it protects one of the richest known fossil deposits from the Blancan North American Land Ma ...

Indiana

Falls of the Ohio State Park Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Cons ...

Iowa

* Fossil and Prairie Park Fossilized leaves are one of many found here. * Devonian Fossil Gorge at

Coralville Lake Coralville Lake is an artificial lake in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, formed by the Coralville Dam, a dam built from 1949 to 1958 on the Iowa River upstream from the city of Coralville, Iowa. History After widespread flooding in the Uni ...

Maryland

Dinosaur Park Dinosaur Park is a dinosaur park in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to see ...

Massachusetts

Dinosaur Footprints A fossil track or ichnite (Greek "''ιχνιον''" (''ichnion'') – a track, trace or footstep) is a fossilized footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. A fossil trackway is a sequence of fossil tracks left by a single organism. Over the year ...

Michigan

Rockport Quarry, an abandoned limestone quarry near Alpena open to collecting

Mississippi

Mississippi Petrified Forest

Nebraska

* Agate Fossil Beds National Monument * Ashfall State Historical Park

Nevada

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, a United States National Monument near Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada, was established in 2014 to protect Ice Age paleontological discoveries. The monument is administered by the National Park Servi ...

New Jersey

Poricy Park Poricy Park is a nature preserve and park in Middletown Township, New Jersey, Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. It is known for its Cretaceous period fossil shell beds along the Poricy Brook streambed, open to the public for li ...

New Mexico

Clayton Lake State Park Clayton Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a recreational reservoir and a fossil trackway of dinosaur footprints. It is located north of Clayton, close to New Mexico's border with Colorado, Oklahoma, and ...

* Prehistoric Trackways National Monument New York
Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve

Ohio

Hueston Woods State Park Hueston Woods State Park is a state park located in Butler and Preble counties of the U.S. state of Ohio, about five miles (8 km) northeast of Oxford in the southwestern part of the state. The park lies in Oxford Township, Butler County, ...

* Trammel Fossil Park,

Sharonville, Ohio Sharonville is a city largely in Hamilton County, Ohio, Hamilton County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 14,117 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Sharonville is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area and located about ...

Oregon

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserve ...

South Dakota

The Mammoth Site The Mammoth Site is a museum and paleontological site near Hot Springs, South Dakota, in the Black Hills. It is an active paleontological excavation site at which research and excavations are continuing. The facility encloses a prehistoric sin ...

* Fossil Cycad National Monument (No longer exists)

Texas

Dinosaur Valley State Park Dinosaur Valley State Park is a state park near Glen Rose, Texas, United States. History Dinosaur Valley State Park, located just northwest of Glen Rose in Somervell County, Texas, is a scenic park set astride the Paluxy River. The land f ...

* Ladonia Fossil Park,

Ladonia, Texas Ladonia is a town in Fannin County, Texas, United States. Its population was 597 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled around 1840. Originally called McCownville, its name was changed to Ladonia in 1857, supposedly in honor of A ...

* Mineral Wells Fossil Park,

Mineral Wells, Texas Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, Palo Pinto and Parker County, Texas, Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 14,820 at the 2020 census. The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly ...

Utah

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park Escalante Petrified Forest State Park (also known as Escalante State Park) is a state park in Utah, United States, located 0.8 km north of Escalante and 71 km east of Bryce Canyon National Park. The park features a high mesa that was ...

* Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

Wyoming

Fossil Butte National Monument Fossil Butte National Monument is a United States National Monument managed by the National Park Service, located west of Kemmerer, Wyoming, United States. It centers on an assemblage of Eocene Epoch (56 to 34 million years ago) animal and p ...

* Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite *

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

South America and Central America

Argentina

Ischigualasto Ischigualasto Provincial Park (), also called ''Valle de la Luna'' ("Valley of the Moon" or "Moon Valley"), due to its moon-like appearance, is a provincial protected area in the north-east of San Juan Province, north-western Argentina, limiting ...

is located in San Juan province

Bolivia

Cal Orcko in

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

Brazil

Paleorrota Geopark is located in

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossil parks Lists of buildings and structures Lists of parks Paleontological sites Paleontology lists * Lists of protected areas

Africa

Egypt

South Africa

Tanzania

Asia

India

Japan

Thailand

Australia

Australia

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

North America

Canada

United States

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Idaho

Indiana

Iowa

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Nebraska

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

Ohio

Oregon

South Dakota

Texas

Utah

Wyoming

South America and Central America

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

See also

References