Special Report

Evotourism ®

Where you can travel to see evolution in action

Going the distance: Evolution mavens in the Quantock Hills of England walked for some 3.5 billion years. Stuart Conway

At American Fossil Quarry, on privately owned land near Kemmerer, Wyoming, hammer- and chisel-wielding visitors pay $69 to $89 to spend up to four hours hunting for fossils. Finders, keepers.

The 50-Million-Year-Old Treasures of Fossil Lake

Robert Leverett walks through the old-growth forests in Mohawk Trail State Forest.

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Last October, archaeologists discovered the mud dock where the HMS Beagle was dismantled by using specialized drone photography

The Final Home of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status

<p>Poaching was amplified during Mozambique’s civil war between 1977 to 1992 to finance the war efforts. Elephant population numbers dropped from 2,500 individuals to around 200 in the early 2000s.<br />
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Female Elephants Are Evolving Without Tusks in Mozambique

<p>The 'Ubeidiya site today is an expanse of grasses. Concealed from this view are slabs of fossilized pebbly clay, a source of ancient finds that have helped scholars learn about the journeys of <em>Homo erectus</em>.</p>

What Drove Homo Erectus Out of Africa?

“You could say that saving species is in my blood,” says Chris Darwin, a conservationist who lives in the mountains explored by his great-great-grandfather.

How Australia Put Evolution on Darwin’s Mind

Beware of this meat-eating <i>Albertosaurus</i> on the Royal Tyrrell Museum plaza.

Want to Excite Your Inner Dinosaur Fan? Pack Your Bags for Alberta

Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan: a landscape “lonely as a dream,” wrote Edward Abbey.

When Texas Was at the Bottom of the Sea

Evotourism: The Americas

Heavily forested slopes near Spirit Lake were devastated by the eruption as shown in this photo in 1982.

Mount St. Helens, Washington

The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles is the only active urban paleontological excavation site in the United States.

La Brea Tar Pits, California

The Burgess Shale, a crumbling slope in Canada's Rocky Mountains, has provided our first good look at the rich variety of organisms that once flourished in the region.

Burgess Shale, British Columbia, Canada

The Green River carves the landscape at Mitten Park fault, exposing rock layers formed more than a billion years ago – long before the dinosaurs.

Welcome to America’s Dinosaur Playground

Three-toed horses such as <em>Cormohipparion occidentale</em> were adapted to forests prior to 12 million years ago. As the climate dried, one-toed horses became prevalent.

Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska

Wolves hunting moose on Isle Royale are a dramatic example of what scientists call co-evolution: two species, such as a predator and its prey, adapting to each other’s adaptations.

Isle Royale, Michigan

Far from the mainland and one another, the Galapágos Islands host animals with distinctive traits, such as the notched shell of Pinzón Island’s saddleback giant tortoise.

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Five Great Places to See Evidence of First Americans

Evotourism: Europe

Going the distance: Evolution mavens in the Quantock Hills of England walked for some 3.5 billion years.

Take a Hike on Britain’s Ancestor’s Trail and Travel Back 10,000 Years

After purchasing Down House, he and his wife continually expanded the building and their gardens.

The House Where Darwin Lived

The Jurassic Coast encompasses 185 million years of history.

Jurassic Coast, England

A time capsule of life in the Eocene: Ailuravus, a three-foot-long, squirrel-like rodent

The Evolutionary Secrets Within the Messel Pit

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, friar Gregor Mendel, statue in the Abbey of St. Thomas, had discovered a crucial genetic mechanism underlying natural selection.

Mendel's Garden, Czech Republic

Evotourism: Africa, Asia, Australia

South Africa’s limestone caves, such as Sterkfontein often hold the fossilized skeletons of hominids who fell into holes or were dragged underground by predators.

The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

Whales evolved from mammals that adapted to hunt in oceans. Skeletons of Basilosaurus, a whale ancestor, reveal the leviathan still retained tiny hind legs.

Wadi Hitan, Egypt

Foraminifera provide scientists with an invaluable fossil record. Their exquisite outer shells, normally too small for the naked eye, inspired sculptures in Zhongshan, China.

Foraminifera Sculpture Park, China

Previously off the beaten path, Komodo island is now one of Indonesia’s most popular travel destinations.

The Komodo Dragon is an All-Purpose Killing Machine

Koalas, kangaroos and wallabies are abundant on the island and not particularly fearful, so it’s possible to have close encounters with these distant mammalian kin.

Kangaroo Island, Australia