Nemegt Basin

The Nemegt basin lies below the Nemegt range in the western Gobi, a spread of eroded badlands whose late Cretaceous sediments have produced an exceptional fossil record: Tarbosaurus, Deinocheirus, Therizinosaurus and many others were described from material found here, and expeditions from several countries have worked the ground since the 1940s. For a visitor the landscape is low ridges, dry washes and pale eroded slopes rather than dramatic scenery, and the interest is in walking ground where bone weathers out of the sediment. Fossils are legally protected; poaching has been a serious problem and material must be left exactly where it lies. The area is very remote, with no settlement, water or facilities, and visits are camping expeditions arranged with an experienced driver.

The landscape

• Eroded badlands - pale ridges and washes cut into Cretaceous sediment.
• The Nemegt range - the mountains standing above the basin.
• Fossil ground - the exposures that produced the major finds.
• Desert emptiness - no settlement or track junction for many hours.

When to go

May to September, with late spring and early autumn most bearable. Midsummer heat in the open badlands is dangerous. Access after rain becomes difficult as the washes fill.

Good to know

This is a remote expedition, not a day trip: fuel, water and food are carried, and a knowledgeable driver is essential. There is nothing to see in the way of built sites or displays. Collecting or buying fossils is illegal and damages the record. Sightings of exposed bone are a matter of luck.

Nearby

Khermen Tsav lies southwest; Gurvantes is the nearest settlement.

Key facts