Located in the tectonically complex landscapes of southwestern Kyrgyzstan, a rare opportunity to study the evolution of Earth and life unfolds. Now under consideration as the first UNESCO Global Geopark in Central Asia, this fantastic site is referred to as the Madygen Geopark. Owing to its nearly uninterrupted stratigraphic record from the Cambrian to the present—which can be walked in a single day—this area has immense potential to drive geoscientific research, education, and geotourism.

The Geopark is named after the extremely fossil-rich Middle Triassic Madygen Formation. After extensive research in the 1960s and 1970s by Soviet paleontologists, the region fell into scientific obscurity following the collapse of the USSR. However, renewed—but sporadic—efforts by mostly German scientists in the 2000s and 2020s have reawakened interest in the area’s geological and paleontological wealth. The latest geological map of the Madygen Geopark at a 1:25,000 scale exhibits the most recent insights into the region’s complex geology.

To date, over 30,000 fossils have been excavated from the lacustrine Middle Triassic sequences alone, including over 500 insect species, endemic vertebrates such as Longisquama and Sharovipteryx, diverse invertebrates, plant remains, and several ichnofossils. However, the Madygen Formation is just one of many fossil-rich sites. In close proximity, Middle to Late Paleozoic, Upper Triassic, as well as Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neogene sequences have proven to be valuable time capsules.

Despite intense deformation, the Paleozoic outcrops have preserved astonishing fossil assemblages. These include a highly diverse Cambrian fauna comprising stem-group cnidarians, mollusks, brachiopods, and trilobites, including several novel taxa. Fluviolacustrine Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic sediments contain a diverse yet poorly sampled flora and entomofauna, as well as arthropod and vertebrate trace fossils.

In strikingly red continental deposits of the Cretaceous, exceptionally large burrows of possibly crustacean origin occur in large clusters. Repeated marine incursions during the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene led to the formation of the Fergana Gulf and the deposition of marine Paleogene strata preserving oysters and other mollusks, chondrichthyans, fish remains, and diverse microfossils. Continued convergence and uplift during the Neogene and Quaternary ultimately shaped the dramatic topography of today’s landscape.