The West Coast Fossil Park is a

fossil park Following is a list of protected areas where fossils 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 ...

near

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 mai minerals consisting of phosphorite ...

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, South Africa, approximately north of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. The fossil sites of Langebaanweg have exceptionally well-preserved remains of fossil fauna that date to circa 5.2 million years ago. In this period sea levels were higher and many now extinct animals lived in the riverine forests, wooded

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and along the sea coast near the present day Langebaanweg site.

Phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

mining operations at Langebaanweg uncovered these rich fossil deposits. The fossils include bones of over 200 different animal species. This represents possibly the greatest diversity of five-million-year-old fossils found anywhere in the world. The fossil park was formed after mining operations ceased in 1993. The park is partnered with the

Iziko South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important A ...

. In 1996 the former National Monuments Council declared the site a national monument. With the introduction of the National Heritage Resources Act in 2000 it became a provincial heritage site and in March 2012 the provincial heritage resources authority,

Heritage Western Cape Heritage Western Cape (HWC) is a provincial heritage resources authority established by the Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport of the government of the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is a public entity set up under the terms of ...

significantly expanded the area that is protected.Provincial Notice 69/2012,Province of the Western Cape Provincial Gazette Extraordinary, No. 606, Cape Town: 23 March 2012

References

External links

Official homepage

National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999

Heritage Western Cape website
Pliocene paleontological sites of Africa Fossil parks Geologic formations of Africa South African heritage resources South African heritage sites Geology of South Africa Paleontology in South Africa 1996 in paleontology 2000 in paleontology {{Africa-protected-area-stub