Want to holiday like a scientific adventurer would ? We ’ve put together the ultimate travel scout for masses who want to journey back to the earliest ages of the Earth . This guide to North American prehistory will take you to valleys full of fogy , mountains carve by ice ages , and petrified forests that are one thousand thousand of years old .
Map by Stephanie Fox ! Click to enlarge .
Dinosaur Provincial Park
Location : Alberta , Canada
Open to public ? Yes , the ballpark is very visitor - friendly all class . There are regular and “ comfort ” bivouacking sites , as well as avisitor snapper , tour , hiking trails , andoutdoor dodo video display .
Importance : The vainglorious attracter for the geology buff would be Dinosaur Provincial Park ’s dinosaur fossil field of operation , which can be reckon on a group tour or on a self - direct walkway . Some of the most important Cretaceous dinosaur discover amount from these field of study , which have provide over 300 dinosaur skeletons date stamp back to 75 - 77 mya and pass over 60 different coinage . photograph by Elena Elisseeva viaShutterstock
Meteor Crater
Location : Arizona
unfold to populace ? Yes , the crater site admit 3 lookout points along the rim , along with a visitors ’ centre that provides guided term of enlistment and a theatre of operations that plays a movie about meteor collisions . Admission cost arehere , and more visitant selective information in the Flagstaff visitant ’ steer onpage 18 of this brochure[PDF ] .
Importance : The Meteor Crater is advertised as the “ advantageously keep up Meteorite Impact Site on Earth . ” About 50,000 years ago , a 130 - foot - wide-cut asteroid hit Earth at ten time the upper of a rifle bullet , create this 4,100 - foot - spacious crater with a depth of 570 foot .
Grand Canyon
Open to public ? Yes , the Grand Canyon isa democratic bivouacking and hike destinationwith one rim undefended all year , and the other open during the summer . Here issome visitant information .
grandness : accord to UNESCO , this is the most striking canyon on the planet , with a width ranging from 0.3 to 18.6 knot and a depth of 0.9 statute mile . In addition to attracting tourists , the strata that are visible in the Grand Canyon let out 2 billion years of geologic story . Plus , even more geological formations , such as buttes and mesas , are seeable from the rim of the defile . Photo by Glenn Young viaShutterstock .
Petrified Forest Park
unfold to public ? Yes , the green includes a visitor heart and a museum , as well as driving paths with overlook and walk trails that lead by petrified woodwind instrument , details here .
grandness : According to UNESCO , the resourcefulness at the parking lot date back to the Late Triassic period , which was 205 - 225 mya . In particular , those resource include petrified wood ( much of it clustered into five “ forests ” ) at unlike stratigraphic levels , as well asthe dodo of 78 species of animate being . There are even petroglyphs from early human indweller .
Burgess Shale Site
Location : British Columbia , Canada
Open to world ? Yes , theBurgess Shaleis in Yoho National Park in Canada , which is open to the public . While you ’re not allowed to explore the fossil bed on your own , there areguided boost around the website .
Importance : The fossils at the Burgess Shale site areold , diverse , andvery well preserved , including the clay of soft as well as gruelling body parts . Here ’s whatthe prescribed website says :
The Burgess Shale fossils deservingness especial interest for several reasons : Their age – from the Cambrian time period , 505 million years ago , shortly after an astonishing fit of biodiversity go on in the ancient oceans . Their keen saving – amazingly hunky-dory details of the structure of the animals are seen in the fossils , which tell paleontologists much more about what the ancient animals looked like , and how they lived . The fossil reveal important cue to the nature of evolution – all of the major type of animals ( phyla ) known today are lay out in the Burgess Shale , plus others that can not be placed in our modern classification system .
Mono Lake
Location : California
afford to public ? Yes , Mono Lake is in a California state natural taciturnity , and advance hiking , boat , swimming , camping , and a visitant centre with programs that let in guided walks .
Importance : When the lake ’s salty , alkaline water interacts with fresh water springs,“tufa towers”of calcium carbonate maturate out of the water . But while the tufa isgeologically interesting , the lake itself is a piece of geological chronicle : it is one of the old inland seas in North America , dating back to the formation of the Sierra Nevada lot ( whichbegan to form in the Triassic ) . About 12,000 long time ago , the ocean used to fill the entire lavatory in which Mono Lake now sits , but the water has since funk to only a few lakes spread through the Great Basin . Plus , in late scientific discipline story , astrobiologists foundorganisms that substitute arsenic for phosphorusliving in the lake . Photo by Caitlin Mirra viaShutterstock
Rancho La Brea
Open to world ? Yes , the tar pits seem to be passably accessible . The specimens that have been recovered can be viewed atthe adjacent Page Museum , which is assailable daily , except for holidays . In addition to checking out the pits , guests can take care at scientists at work in a “ fishbowl ” lab and check out recuperate specimen ( and reproductions and refurbishment ) .
Importance : Rancho La Brea hold back “ the largest and most diverse assemblage of out Ice Age plants and animals in the world , ” according to theNatural History Museum of Los Angeles . They date from the Pleistocene , 40,000 to 8,000 ya . Thus far , over 3 million specimens have been retrieve , which add up to more than 660 dissimilar species of animals and industrial plant , include 59 mammal species and 135 doll mintage . TheUniversity of California Museum of Paleontology has more informationon these specimens and what they break about Ice Age L.A. ( Photo byAndy Castro . )
Raton Basin
position : Colorado and New Mexico
Open to public ? Yes ; one of the track in Trinidad Lake State Park , called the Long Canyon ’s lead , passes by the discover Cretaceous - Tertiary boundary(also call the K - metric ton boundary ) . It ’s heart-to-heart to hiker and bikers , andis only 0.75 miles long . The U.S. Geological Surveysuggests several other pot to see .
grandness : TheK - T boundary , a thin stria of rock that tick the bound between the Cretaceous and Tertiary point , and the mass extinction that come about at that prison term , is bring out and seeable in Raton Basin . This boundary also arrest an anomalously high amount of atomic number 77 , which plunk for the surmise that the mass extinction was due to an asteroid impact , accord to the U.S. Geological Survey . This band of iridium , called the “ iridium anomaly,”is seeable in web site all over the world , but is particularly striking here .
Raven Ridge
positioning : Colorado and Utah , stretches through the border between the two states
open up to public ? Yes , there is road access code to Raven Ridge at the Mormon Gap
Importance : The expose rock at Raven Ridge , turned up by architectonic activity , consists of layers deposited about 54 - 50 mya , which also contain fogey . This time period also include the K - T boundary . The rock music of the ridgepole were originally in a lakebed before being tilted into ridge and valleysduring the Laramide orogeny , when the Rocky Mountains were pushed up in westerly North America . photograph via NASA
Citronelle Formation
Location : Florida to Texas ( continuous )
Open to public ? It ’s pretty big , so you could inspect dissimilar parts of it , but one of the most approachable is in Citronelle , Alabama .
Importance : The Citronelle Formation originate from alluvial fans that were deposited on ( formerly ) coastal areas . As a solution , itcontains fossils of marine invertebratesdating from the Devonian to Mississippian , 320 - 480 million yr ago .
Yellowstone National Park
Location : Idaho , Montana , Wyoming
Open to public ? Yes , Yellowstone National Park encourages visitor to its geysers , live springs , and other geothermic feature . The park has a Sir Frederick Handley Page onhow to plan your visitand onwhat to do once you get there .
Importance : Yellowstone has half of all the globe’sgeothermal features , includinggeysers and a mega - volcanobubbling menacingly beneath its surface . Anyone who require to understand the liquefied rocks that churn beneath the Earth ’s gall will have a slew to see here . Photo by naturediver viaShutterstock
Ice Age Flood Trail, Lawn Lake Alluvial Fan
positioning : Idaho , Oregon , Washington
open up to public ? Yes
grandness : Both of these landmarks are the results of melting glacier causing outpouring . TheLawn Lake Alluvial FaninRocky Mountain National Parkformed when a moraine dating back to the latest glass long time gave way in the face of glacial floodwaters . During the last ice age , there were many flood across the American Northwest . TheIce Age Flood Trailis a route opened in 2009 near these sites .
Mazon Creek
Location : Illinois
Open to public ? Yes , anyone can take a peek at the brook , and it ’s pop with fossil Hunter . In addition , fogy that have been unearth from the creekare on display inChicago ’s Field Museumand other locating .
Importance : Mazon Creek isone of the world ’s best “ Lagerstattens,”which translate to “ fogy motherlode . ” Fossils from this site are unique in the fact that their soft body part ( in add-on to hard parts like skeleton and exoskeletons ) have been preserved . The site is also far-famed for its multifariousness , withover 500 plant and 400 animal coinage notice , which date back to theCarboniferous periodaround 300 million year ago .
Mammoth Cave National Park
Location : Kentucky
open up to the populace ? Yes , Mammoth Cave National Parkencouragesvisitors to comehike , canoe , bike , coterie , and tour the cave organization .
Importance : At over 360 mapped air mile , Mammoth Cave National Park is the recollective cave system in the world . Other geologic goodies includekarst , terrain make when soluble John Rock like limestone and bitter spar dissolve . Mammoth Cave has been forming since 100 mya , and as a outcome of the karst it display almost ever kind of cave characteristic , which makes ita great illustration of geologic history . Scientists are work ona number of inquiry projects on the situation .
Sideling Hill
placement : Maryland , Pennsylvania , West Virginia
open up to public ? Yes , a main road ( Interstate 68 ) really cut through the James Jerome Hill near Hancock , Washington County , MD , providing a great cross - section of the stratum . There is also apparently an showing on them at the Hancock Museum in Hancock , MD ( ringlet to the bottom for information on theHancock - Sideling Hill Geological Museum .
Importance : The expose strata of Sideling Hill are thick and of high calibre . The syncline stratadate from the early Carboniferous and Devonian period , over 300 million years ago . ( Photo by*nettie * )
Chicxulub crater
Location : Mexico , in the Yucatan Peninsula near Chicxulub
open up to public ? Not precisely … we do n’t consider anyone would halt you from going to the impact website ( the part of it that ’s onshore anyway ) , but there does n’t seem to be any museum or visitor center to recite tourists where to look and what they ’re look for . Other than cenotes , there ’s not much to see . If you ’d wish to visit , there are some Google maps with the crater rim circled .
Importance : About 65 million years ago , an asteroid crashed into what is today the Yucatan Peninsula . It score with a force jillion of time stronger than a nuclear dud , actuate seismal activity across the Earth and spreading clouds of rubble over the planet that lead to years of winter and has been accredit for driving the dinosaurs ( and other species ) to extinction . The mind that the asteroid was rich in iridium , and thus caused the iridium anomaly , has head many geoscientiststo credit its impact with the creation of the K - deoxythymidine monophosphate limit .
Gros Morne National Park
Location : Newfoundland , Canada
Open to public ? Yes , the car park allows tramp and camping , and also has boat tour . More visitant selective information here .
ImportanceAccording to UNESCO :
Gros Morne National Park illustrate some of the domain ’s best examples of the process of scale plate tectonic theory . Within a comparatively small area are classic , text edition exemplar of monumental earth - construction and modifying forces that are unparalleled in terms of their clarity , expression , and ease of memory access . The property presents the all over portrayal of the geological events that took place when the ancient continental margin of North America was modified by plate apparent motion by positioning of a big , resettled portion of pelagic Earth’s crust and ocean floor sediments .
Rocks heredate back almost 2 billion geezerhood . This is serious geophysical erotica . ( Photo byMichael A. Blanchard )
Huronian Supergroup
Location : Ontario , Quebec
open up to public ? Yes , the Huronian Supergroup is accessible and can be surveyed by anyone who wants to train it out . To learn more about the geological history of specific sites in the area , the Wikipedia varlet on the Superior Cratonis helpful .
Importance : The Huronian Supergroup is , allot to the American Museum of Natural History :
A monolithic formation of rock’n’roll put down down gradually between about 2.5 billion and 2.2 billion years ago , precisely the full point when oxygen begin to roll up in the standard pressure . The Huronian Supergroup is 10 or 11 kilometers ( six or seven miles ) buddy-buddy and carry well below terra firma . From atop a nearby rock outcrop , a looker can survey the landscape for Admiralty mile around . [ In one section , ] Individual bed of ancient sediment form horizontal stripes on the rock . From a few steps back , the rock wall looks like a cross - section of a giant , stone encyclopedia .
Miguasha National Park
positioning : Quebec
open up to populace ? Yes , Miguasha isa Quebec national park open to visitors . There ’s hike , picnicking , anda visitor museum .
Importance : Miguasha National Park , according to UNESCO , “ is considered to be the world ’s most owing illustration of the Devonian Period known as the ‘ Age of Fishes ’ . Dating from 370 million eld ago , the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation represent here contains five of the six fogey Pisces the Fishes group associated with this menstruation . Its significance stems from the breakthrough there of the high-pitched telephone number and best - preserved fossil specimen of the lobe - break water Fish that gave rising to the first four - legged , air - breathing terrestrial vertebrates – the tetrapods . ” In accession to fish , there are other craniate , spineless , and plants fossil at the site . chiliad of these fossilshave been name and ship all around the globe .
Capitol Reef National Park
localisation : Utah
spread to populace ? Yes , visitant can delay out the visitor sum , pick yield , hike , drive along a scenic road , have a pass walking or political program , and camp atCapitol Reef National Park . Here’sa detailed mapping .
Importance : The common carry the Waterpocket Fold , a 100 - mile monocline , or “ step - up ” in strata . On the west side of the fold , the layer are 7000 ft higher than on the east . The fold make 50 - 70 mya , but the rocks that are exposed engagement back from the Permian to the Cretaceous ( 270 to 80 million age ago ) . Essentially , the break aqueous strata represent almost 200 million long time of history , as well as including the edge of what wasonce a shallow inland ocean .
Bryce Canyon National Park
Open to public ? Yes , visitor canhike , camp , and evenattend geology talks or tour of the rim . Frommer ’s hasmore on contrive a visit to the car park .
Importance : Bryce Canyon contains peril rock organization that first take up forming in the Cretaceous ( 144 mya until 63 mya ) . In increase , the Cretaceous Seaway deal the area for about 60 million years , which deposited deposit at the site . In improver , the canyon stop the rock geological formation call “ hoodoos , ” which arecarved from rocks that were deposited about 66 to 40 million long time ago . More informationhere . The “ amphitheater ” of the canyon alonereveals the farseeing geologic account of sedimentation and erosion in a colourful episode of rocks . Faulting , uplift and erosion give access to the find of plant and animate being life in the region 130 to 40 million years ago . ( exposure byOleg Slyusarchuk )
Upheaval Dome
Open to public ? Yes , Upheaval Dome is a lineament inCanyonlands National Park , which is definitely open to visitor .
Importance : Upheaval Dome is either a squeeze - off salt dome or a crater from a meteorite shock , but current theoriesseem to lean towards the “ crater ” theory . However it take shape , the attic eat away so that the rock candy layers visible within itare not seeable anywhere nearby . According to geologists :
The core consists of the oldest rock formations at Upheaval Dome . The Organ Rock Shale and White Rim Sandstone of the Permian Cutler Group , and Triassic Moenkopi Formation were inject and pushed upward in a helter-skelter muddle . The Triassic Chinle Formation , Triassic - Jurassic Wingate Sandstone , and Jurassic Kayenta Formation and Navajo Sandstone are stacked , old to immature , from the core to the rim .
If it was a saltiness dome , it must have formed over the track of 20 million years due to moderate pressure , rather than forming apace under high pressing as it would have if it ’s from a crater . In 2008,a newspaper take that quartz on the land site had undergone high pressure , betoken that the volcanic crater theory is the winner . ( Photo byJesse Varner )
Checkerboard Mesa
Open to populace ? Yes , visitant toZion National Parkare welcome to check out the Checkerboard Mesa . For more information on how to get to it , here is a guide .
grandness According tothe National Parks avail :
The name stem from the cliff s distinctive checkerboard pattern . The horizontal line are due to crossbedding , a remainder of ancient sand dunes . The vertical lines mould because of the condensation and expansion of the sandstone .
Adds Fodors : The classifiable waffle patterns on this huge , white mound of sandstone was create by eons of freeze / thaw cycles creating vertical crack , along with the exposure of horizontal bedding planes by wearing away . ”
Buttermilk Creek
Location : Texas
Open to populace ? There have beenarchaeological digs here and at nearby site , but they ’re on private property .
grandness : Artifacts retrieve from the Buttermilk Creek arena ( dubbed the “ Buttermilk Creek composite ” ) point that humans patch up America 2,000 years earlier than previously believe , putting them in this region 15,000 year ago . This bespeak thathumans may have transmigrate to the Americas via gravy holder , rather than walk across the nation nosepiece as previously believed . Given that early Americans came here every summertime for seemingly thousands of years , it seems like a well position to have a BBQ , if you could figure out a way to do it without trespassing ! pic byMichael Waters .
15,000 - year - one-time campsite in Texas challenges conventional story of American colonization
Want more ? If you ’d care to take trips related to phylogenesis , the Smithsonian has a travel guide to situation all over the worldly concern related to evolutionary history .
earth scienceGeologyHistoryPaleontologyScienceTravel
Daily Newsletter
Get the ripe technical school , scientific discipline , and culture newsworthiness in your inbox daily .
News from the future , deliver to your nowadays .
