Mangystau: Searching for the Past Underground
Mangystau Plateau, Kazakhstan - June 2026
Early in the morning, I stumbled out of my hotel in central Aktau and met my guide Sergey, a local expert on fossils and the natural history of Mangystau, the region where Aktau is. Around 200 million years ago, this stretch of desert was underwater, part of the ancient Tethys Ocean that once separated two Northern and Southern continents. The Tethys did not stay one consistent sea the whole time. It advanced and retreated over this area repeatedly across tens of millions of years, and each time it did, another layer of shell, coral, and plankton settled onto the seabed and eventually hardened into rock. That is why the chalk and limestone plateaus here are not one single snapshot of the past but a stack of them, different seas from different eras on top of each other.
We set out early and stopped first at a site where we found plant imprint fossils pressed into beautiful dark brown rock, evidence of a much shallower or potentially land environment than the open ocean layers nearby. From there, a tip from one of Sergey's friends sent us to a newer site full of ammonites, the coiled shells of an extinct group of cephalopods related to modern squid and octopus. Ammonites lived for an enormous stretch of time, roughly 400 to 66 million years ago, and at their peak there were more than 10,000 different species of them in the world's oceans. They disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous, from the same asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs. Most of what we found here was in large pieces, but we did manage to dig out a few smaller whole ones before moving on.
The best stop was before the town of Say Utes, where dramatic white canyons cut through the desert. After trying a few spots off the beaten path, we found a section loaded with marine fossils, which is what this region is known for. This part of Mangystau holds one of the most scientifically documented marine fossil beds anywhere in Central Asia, laid down roughly 37 million years ago during the Eocene. Some of the teeth found in these layers belong to the genus Otodus, the same broad lineage that would eventually produce megalodon, the largest predatory shark to ever exist, tens of millions of years after the teeth we were finding that day. Beyond the scenery, which was worth the trip on its own, we walked away with shark teeth, marine vertebrae, fins, and more, and Sergey told me he had never actually been to this exact spot before either, so it was a genuine new find for both of us.
Mangystau's Prehistoric Past
Click any fossil to see what it once was
I came away with good examples of nearly everything we found, and I'm still working with Sergey and his friend Vladimir to properly identify all of it. I have what looks like shark vertebrae and bone, shark teeth, fish vertebrae, plant fossils, and ammonites. They are all species that have been extinct for millions of years and are ancestors of the marine and terrestrial life still around today. After spending so much of this trip learning about the human history of Central Asia, it was a nice change to spend a day learning about the region’s natural history.
On the drive back to Aktau, Sergey told me about his own family and how he sees Kazakhstan today. Like a lot of people in Aktau, a city the Soviets built essentially from nothing, Sergey’s family is originally from a different part of the Soviet Union (ethnically Armenian). His parents moved there to help build the city up during Soviet times, although Sergey himself is Kazakh by nationality and has never lived anywhere else (yet locals don't fully see him as Kazakh either). It's a strange situation I hadn't really considered before, one created by the Soviet Union's collapse: people who relocated when it was all supposedly one country now find themselves cut off from wherever their family actually came from, without being completely accepted in the place they've always called home. Sergey also talked about a real nostalgia for the Soviet era, telling me he thinks corruption has gotten worse since, along with job security and public services. That view isn't unusual in a place like Aktau, especially among people over 40, though it did surprise me a little given that Kazakhstan is generally considered the most developed country in Central Asia.
If you go…
Go with a local expert rather than trying to find sites on your own, the best spots tend to circulate by word of mouth among people who already know the terrain and you do not want to waste precious time
Moreover, you will need things like satellite maps, a 4×4 car, and tools, which a good guide can provide
Bring/buy padding or a small case if you want to bring fossils home intact, especially anything more delicate than a shark tooth
The area before Say Utes is the most reliable stretch for marine fossils specifically, but it is also popular, so try to find nearby sites that are less explored but in the same geological band
Dress and pack sunscreen, water, and snacks as you would for any desert hike, the terrain and heat are serious, especially in summer
Works well as a full day trip from Aktau, plan for most of the day given the driving between sites or stay a night camping
Enjoy a swim in the Caspian Sea and a cold beer when you get back to Aktau (assuming it is summer)
Visit Tethys Cafe in Aktau to learn more about the region’s fossils, see examples, and enjoy a tasty cup of coffee
