GoFossilHunting

Countries

Fossil Hunting Sites by Country

We document 414 sites across 48 countries. Collecting law varies more between countries than the geology does, so start with the rules and then pick the site.

The law matters more than the rock

Three broad regimes cover almost every country on this list. Some allow personal collecting of common loose material and restrict only scientifically important finds. Some require a permit for any collecting at all. Some treat every fossil as state property and prohibit export outright.

The third group is the one that catches visitors out. Mongolia and Brazil have both pursued international prosecutions over trafficked specimens. Buying a fossil from a roadside vendor in those countries can be a criminal matter, and it removes material that researchers need.

Even inside a permissive country the rules change with the land. A beach may allow collecting while the cliff above it does not, because the cliff is a protected site. Every site page on this website carries an access field, and that field is the one to read before you travel.

Europe

The longest history of organized collecting anywhere, and the most varied rules. England allows personal collecting of loose material on many beaches. Portugal treats every vertebrate fossil as state property. Read the country page before you plan a trip.

North America

Vast exposures and a clear legal split. On United States federal land, vertebrate fossils cannot be collected at all, while common invertebrates and plants usually can. Canada regulates at the provincial level, and Alberta is the strictest.

Africa and the Middle East

Morocco supplies much of the world's commercial trilobite and ammonite material, and its 2015 Mining Code requires a permit for collecting and trading. Buy from licensed dealers, keep receipts, and expect scrutiny at export.

Asia

Mongolia and China both treat fossils as state property with active enforcement, following international prosecutions for trafficking. Visit and photograph, but do not buy and do not collect.

Oceania

Australia regulates by state, and several fossil localities sit inside national parks or on Aboriginal land where permission is required. New Zealand protects fossils under its own heritage legislation.

South America

Argentina and Brazil both hold internationally important Mesozoic material and both restrict its collection and export. Brazil's Araripe Basin fossils in particular have been the subject of repatriation cases.

Other ways to browse

The United States has its own index by state. You can also browse by fossil type or by geological period, and the regional guides give ranked shortlists for individual areas.