The West Coast is alive with fossils!  We know this because the fossils were found over the past 40 years during phosphate mining operations.  In 1196 a 14 ha fossil rich area within the mine property was declared a National Monument.  Thousands of fossil bones have been found and over 70 scientific papers published about the fossils found to date.  They discovered the first Bear south of the Sahara, lion sized saber-tooth cats, long horned-short necked giraffes called sivatheres, three-toed horses, two extinct species of elephant, numerous fish, a mega tooth shark, frogs, reptiles ad birds.  This site is also linked to the West Coast National Park and Hopefield Information Centre where the Elandsfontein fossil site is featured.  It is important that the West Coast Fossil Park remains operational and that research continues in order to understand how, why and when the different environmental changes occurred.  Local and international researchers utilize the facilities.

Mini daily guided Tours: 10h00 11h00 13h00 14h00 15h00: laboratorium and site visit.
on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 10h00 and 11h00
Main daily guided Tour: 11h30: slide show and fossil site visit
To book your guided day trips: fossils@westcoastlife.co.za

All fossils are considered National Monuments by the South African Heritage Resources Agency. 

Open morning scheduled for the second Saturday of every month.