
Special Report
Evotourism ®
Where you can travel to see evolution in action
Featured Stories
The Final Home of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status
The naturalist famously conducted the research that led to the "Origin of Species" on board the ship
Female Elephants Are Evolving Without Tusks in Mozambique
The genetic mutation causing tusklessness in females seems to be lethal in males
What Drove Homo Erectus Out of Africa?
Excavations at a site in northern Israel are at the heart of a debate about the species' migrations
How Australia Put Evolution on Darwin’s Mind
The famous naturalist’s revolutionary theory first took shape not in the Galápagos but in the primeval Blue Mountains
Want to Excite Your Inner Dinosaur Fan? Pack Your Bags for Alberta
Canada’s badlands are the place to see fantastic dinosaur fossils (and kitsch)—and eye-opening new evidence about the eve of their fall
When Texas Was at the Bottom of the Sea
A hike to the “top of Texas,” the world’s most famous fossil reef, leads to a new sense of the sublime
Evotourism: The Americas
Mount St. Helens, Washington
Over thirty years after the volcanic eruption, plant and animal life has returned to the disaster site, a veritable living laboratory
La Brea Tar Pits, California
Just a short drive from the mansions of Beverly Hills lies a site where paleontologists have found over three million fossils
Burgess Shale, British Columbia, Canada
Located in the Canadian Rockies, the fossil-rich dig site provides clues to scientists investigating how animal life began
Welcome to America’s Dinosaur Playground
Countless bones and a billion years of geological action make Dinosaur National Monument the go-to park for fossil finds
Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska
Prehistoric rhinoceroses and horses died of volcanic ash inhalation 12 million years ago – their fossils are studied now as an example of natural selection
Isle Royale, Michigan
Moose and wolves face off in the world’s longest-running study of predators and prey
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
The exotic locale, home to tortoises, cacti, iguanas and finches, was a source of inspiration for Darwin's theory of evolution
Five Great Places to See Evidence of First Americans
Encounter the fossils and other remnants of the lives left behind by the continent’s original settlers
Evotourism: Europe
Take a Hike on Britain’s Ancestor’s Trail and Travel Back 10,000 Years
On a wild hike inspired by famed evolutionist Richard Dawkins, every step promises a strange encounter with the origins of species
The House Where Darwin Lived
Home to the naturalist for 40 years, the estate near London was always evolving
Jurassic Coast, England
The best opportunity to play paleontologist is on the southern coast of England, a site rich with marine reptile fossils
The Evolutionary Secrets Within the Messel Pit
An amazing abundance of fossils in a bygone lake in Germany hints at the debt humans owe to animals that died out 48 million years ago
Mendel's Garden, Czech Republic
At an abbey in the Czech town of Brno, a friar studied peas and laid the groundwork for modern genetics
Evotourism: Africa, Asia, Australia
The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa
The world's greatest source of hominid fossils is among dozens of caves just hours from Johannesburg
Wadi Hitan, Egypt
In Egypt's Western Desert, evidence abounds that before they were the kings of the ocean, whales roamed the earth on four legs
Foraminifera Sculpture Park, China
Some of the world's oldest organisms left behind fossilized shells that, when translated to a large sculpture, bring an artistic edge to evolution
The Komodo Dragon is an All-Purpose Killing Machine
A visit to one of Indonesia’s most popular tourist destinations could be your last
Kangaroo Island, Australia
Mammals come in three types and the best place to see them all in one place is this small island off the southern coast of Australia