Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre, Nieu-Bethesda
An interesting aspect to the Karoo is the fossils that have been found there. The area around Nieu-Bethesda in particular has yielded the most comprehensive evidence of the life on earth that pre-dated the emergence of mammals and dinosaurs.
Some of this is displayed in the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre, which also offers ‘fossil safaris’ to the Nieu-Bethesda fossil beds.
There have been five major extinctions in the history of planet Earth, which divide the various ‘periods’ of natural history. A mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Permian period wiped 90% of life in the oceans and 70% of life on land, and the best known evidence of this cataclysm is found at the foot of the Lootsberg Pass in the Sneeuberg Mountains near Nieu-Bethesda.
The Kitching Fossil Centre exhibits display animal models and information on life on the supercontinent Pangea 253 million years ago – 50 million years before the emergence of dinosaurs and long before there were flowers, grasses, birds and mammals.
For more on the Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre and fossil finding tours in the Nieu-Bethesda area.
Getting there: The Kitching Fossil Exploration Centre is situated in Nieu-Bethesda
| More info on the town of Nieu-Bethesda | More info on the Karoo Heartland area |
Related Articles
Book your accommodation right here on ShowMe.
You can find the top hotels, lodges and Airbnb establishments conveniently placed on the map below. All you need to do is click on the place that’s conveniently located and within your budget and then make a booking. What could be easier?
If the map is not where you want to be, click on the ShowMe Pin and then enter the exact name of the location and the map will adjust accordingly.
