Anza Dinosaur Footprints

At Anza, just north of Agadir, the beach ends in a shelf of bedded limestone that is exposed at low tide, and on its surface are dinosaur footprints - three-toed theropod tracks and rounder sauropod impressions, in sequences that can be followed for several paces, in beds of Cretaceous age. They were identified in the 2000s and the site is locally known but has essentially no protection: there is no fence, no sign, no guardian and no path, people walk over them, the sea works on them twice a day, and the platform is also used for fishing and by surfers going past. Finding them without someone who knows the spot is difficult and the tide has to be out. That combination of scientific interest and complete exposure is the honest description of the place, and it is not unusual for palaeontological sites in Morocco.

What you actually see

• Theropod and sauropod tracks - three-toed and rounded prints on a shore platform.
• Followable sequences - several consecutive steps preserved in the bedding.
• No protection whatever - unfenced, unsigned and walked over daily.
• Tide dependence - the platform covered twice a day by the sea.

When to go

October to April, at low tide. An hour; check the tide table.

Honest expectations

The tracks are covered at high water and invisible then. There is no signage and finding them alone is difficult. Do not walk on the prints themselves. The beach at Anza has had water quality problems from nearby outflows.

Nearby

Agadir is south; the Souss estuary is beyond it.