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Fossil hunting in Chile
The Atacama is the driest desert on Earth, and that dryness has preserved a Miocene sea almost untouched. Whale, shark and seabird remains lie in the sediment a short drive from the Pacific.
The Bahia Inglesa Formation crops out along the Atacama coast near Caldera. It formed on a shelf fed by the Humboldt Current, whose upwelling made the water extraordinarily productive and the food chain above it very large.
Los Dedos Paleontological Park sits inside a 159-hectare protection zone that the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales declared in 2004 and has expanded since. Entry is free, and the Museo Paleontologico de Caldera holds the material recovered from it.
At Cerro Ballena north of Caldera, 15 to 20 kilometres away, road widening in 2010 and 2011 exposed more than forty fossil whale skeletons in one stretch. Researchers concluded that harmful algal blooms had poisoned the animals repeatedly over time.
1 fossil site
Updated 17 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
- Where can you see fossils in Chile?
- Los Dedos Paleontological Park, 12 kilometres south of Caldera in the Atacama Region, is the main public site. It is free and protects Miocene whale, shark, penguin and bird remains in place. Its administrator publishes no opening hours, so contact CIAHN Atacama first.
- Can you collect fossils in Chile?
- No, anywhere in Chile. Under Ley 17.288 every fossil on or under Chilean territory is state property by operation of law. Excavation anywhere needs authorisation from the Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales, and appropriation is treated as theft.