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West Coast Fossil Park - Western Cape

In 1958 an employee at the Chemfos Mine, Mr. I S Brown, showed researchers what appeared to be fossils that had been unearthed while excavating material from the company's phosphate mine in Langabaanweg. Subsequent investigation revealed that they were indeed fossils dating back nearly 5 million years ago. One of the fossils was identified as being a tooth of a prehistoric elephant, while the other specimen turned out to be an anklebone of a long-extinct short-necked giraffe.

For the next 40 years palaeontologists worked in close cooperation with the mine, and continued to unravel evidence of the fascinating world that once existed in this now rather dry windswept region. The mine was eventually de-commissioned in 1993 and administration was handed over to the South African Museum and SAMANCOR, whereby the West Coast Fossil Park came into existence.

Over the years the Fossil Park has proven to be one of the world's richest fossil sites in the world and has recently been declared a World Heritage Site.

The following are some of the more interesting fossils discovered so far:
- a sabre-toothed cat
- a three-toed horse dating back 12 million years
- the gomphothere elephant extinct for over 2 million years
- Agriotherium africanum - a large bear-like creature

LOCATION:
- 10 km off the R27 on the R45 towards Hopefield
- (about 20 km northeast of Langabaan)

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