Fossil Parks—Master List

Fossil Parks List Grows to 288 NPS Areas

July, 2025—Two parks, Kalaupapa National Historical Park (KALA) in Hawai'i and Poverty Point National Monument (POPO) in Louisiana, have been added to the Fossil Parks Master List. The current total of NPS areas with fossils is 288 parks which is 67% of all NPS areas. 

 

National Park System units with documented paleontological resources include sites where fossils occur in-place in the rock (in situ), in museum collections, and/or within a cultural context.

 

Master List of Parks with Fossil Resources

Use this sortable listing of park units to find fossil parks by Name, State, Region, or Network.

 

Master List of Parks with Fossil Resources

Order	Park Unit (Code)	State	DOI Region	Legacy NPS Region	I&M Network	Geodiversity Atlas	Park Website	External History Site

 

Notes for Table Above.

Special Notations

• "(affiliated)" is used with non-NPS area names that are linked in importance and purpose to places managed directly by the NPS. Affiliated Areas are designated by acts of Congress or by the Secretary of the Interior.

• "MULTIPLE" is used for park units that span several regions

• Singular regional designations for multi-region trails represent the location of the trail's headquarters.

• "NONE-[network acronym]" is used for NPS units with no officially designated network association. The network most closely related to the unit's geographic location is noted in brackets.

Full Listing of Region and Network Names and Abreviations

Unified Interior Regions

• Region 1a: North Atlantic – Appalachian

• Region 1b: National Capital

• Region 2: South Atlantic – Gulf

• Region 3: Great Lakes

• Region 4: Mississippi Basin

• Region 5: Missouri Basin

• Region 6: Arkansas – Rio Grande – Texas – Gulf

• Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin

• Region 8: Lower Colorado Basin

• Region 9: Columbia – Pacific Northwest

• Region 10: California – Great Basin

• Region 11: Alaska

• Region 12: Pacific Islands

 Old NPS Regions

• AKR: Alaska Region

• IMR: Intermountain Region

• MWR: Midwest Region

• NCR: National Capitol Region

• NER: Northeast Region

• PWR: Pacific West Region

• SER: Southeast Region

Inventory & Monitoring Networks

• Appalachian Inventory & Monitoring Network (APHN)

• Arctic Inventory & Monitoring Network (ARCN)

• Central Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network (CAKN)

• Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (CHDN)

• Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network (CUPN)

• Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network (ERMN)

• Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network (GLKN)

• Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network (GRYN)

• Gulf Coast Inventory & Monitoring Network (GULN)

• Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network (HTLN)

• Klamath Inventory & Monitoring Network (KLMN)

• Mediterranean Coast Inventory & Monitoring Network (MEDN)

• Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network (MIDN)

• Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (MOJN)

• National Capital Region Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCRN)

• North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCCN)

• Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCBN)

• Northeast Temperate Inventory & Monitoring Network (NETN)

• Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCPN)

• Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN)

• Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network (PACN)

• Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network (ROMN)

• San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network (SFAN)

• Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network (SIEN)

• Sonoran Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (SODN)

• South Florida/Caribbean Inventory & Monitoring Network (SFCN)

• Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network (SEAN)

• Southeast Coast Inventory & Monitoring Network (SECN)

• Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network (SCPN)

• Southern Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (SOPN)

• Southwest Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network (SWAN)

• Upper Columbia Basin Inventory & Monitoring Network (UCBN)