Which desert contains the Flaming Cliffs fossil site in Mongolia?

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The desert containing Mongolia’s Flaming Cliffs fossil site is the Gobi Desert.

The Flaming Cliffs, also called Bayanzag or Bayn Dzak, are in Ömnögovi Province in southern Mongolia. Their red and orange sandstone cliffs glow in low sunlight, inspiring the English name given by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews during his expeditions in the 1920s.

The site is part of the Late Cretaceous Djadochta Formation and became famous for producing some of the first scientifically recognized dinosaur eggs. Fossils from the area include Velociraptor, Protoceratops, Oviraptor, and early mammals. The Gobi is not simply a sandy desert: much of it consists of rocky or gravelly terrain, and its cold, dry climate differs from the hot deserts of North Africa.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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