Peking Man Site atZhoukoudian- China

The perpetual forces of the weather have produced some of the most breathtaking sites in the world, from high mountains to eroded buttes and deserts. The processes of deposition and erosion -- when sediments are laid down and then swept away by wind and water -- have also allowed us to look back into the Earth's past and study the fossils of ancient organisms. Some of our most exciting discoveries have been the uncovering of dinosaurs and giant mammals, like saber-tooth cats and wooly mammoths. Thanks to the weather, we can see many of these fossils in rocky formations around the world.

One such site revealed a link to the evolutionary past of humans. Did modern human life originate in Asia? That's what archaeologists wondered when they first started unearthing bones in Zhoukoudian, China in the early 1900s. Zhoukoudian is a cave system near Beijing where hundreds of bones have been excavated, including those of Homo erectus pekinensis (from 700,000 to 200,000 years ago), Homo sapiens (200,000 to 100,000 years old) and Homo sapiens sapiens (dating to 30,000 years ago). Archaeologists also found stone tools and evidence of fire.Although the site continues to be excavated by scientists, tourists can also visit and see models of the different skulls and bones.

Petrified Forest National Park - Arizona, USA

When the continents all still existed in one large landmass called Pangaea -- 200 million years ago -- Arizona was near the equator and was covered in a lush forest. Since that time, the continents have shifted to their current position, and the forest was destroyed. But some of the trees were preserved beneath layers of sediment, and the tree cells were eventually replaced with minerals."Iron and other minerals combined with quartz during the petrification process, creating the brilliant rainbow of colors," says the National Park Service.Unfortunately the beauty of the mineralized trees also tempted tourists to steal pieces from the park. "Many visitors cannot resist taking rocks, despite strict regulations and stiff fines against removing any material," according to National Geographic. If you're visiting the park, the best way to remember the experience is with pictures.

Valley of the Whales - Egypt

Egypt might not be the first place that comes to mind when you conjure up images of the sea, but the Western Desert was once covered by the Tethys Ocean. Wadi Al-Hitan, also known as Valley of the Whales, holds the key to the evolution of whales. According to UNESCO, the fossils at Wadi Al-Hitan "provide dramatic evidence of one of the iconic stories of evolution: the emergence of whales as ocean-going mammals, from their previous life as land-based animals."Philip Gingerich, a scientist who studies mammal evolution and has excavated numerous fossils in Wadi Al-Hitan, discovered whale knee bones, leg bones, and toe bones. "Gingerich believes the first cetaceans probably resembled anthracotheres, svelte hippo-like browsers that inhabited swampy lowlands," writes Tom Mueller for National Geographic. Visitors to the Valley of Whales can see these extraordinary excavated fossils for themselves and imagine a time when whales walked the earth.

Dinosaur National Monument - Colorado and Utah, USA

Millions of years ago, giant vertebrates ruled the earth. Some of these dinosaurs were carnivorous, others were herbivorous, some had bony armor and spines, and many were much larger than modern vertebrates. Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah transports visitors back to the Triassic and Jurassic periods by giving them the chance to see preserved fossils of many different species of dinosaurs. In Quarry Exhibit Hall, tourists can see 1,500 bones, including those of Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodicus and Stegosaurus.

Badlands National Park - South Dakota, USA

The striking painted cliffs of the Badlands are beautiful to hike through, but they also contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. "Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here," according to the National Park Service.The process of erosion carved out the buttes of the Badlands, revealing a huge collection of Eocene and Oligocene mammals in the White River Badlands. The fossils include everything from camels to beavers and birds, providing scientists -- and tourists -- with a glimpse into the past.

Jurassic Coast - England

Extending for almost 100 miles along the English Channel in Southern England, Jurassic Coast is a chain of rocky cliffs filled with fossils that formed between 250 and 65 million years ago. Tourists visiting the region can stop at dozens of gateway towns, some of which have museums and other amenities to supplement the natural beauty of Jurassic Coast. Not only can visitors enjoy the beaches and stunning geologic formations along the coast, they can also see fossils from ammonites, bivalves, brittlestars, and dragonflies.Tourists can even collect fossils from different locations along the coast, as long as they "collect responsibly and at rates that are appropriate to the varying parts of the site," according to Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

John Day Fossil Beds - Oregon, USA

Located in Oregon, the colorful hills of this park contain an extensive record of plant and animal evolution from the past 40 million years. The Sheep Rock unit of the park features the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, where visitors can see fossils from all around the park. The Painted Hills also contain plant fossils, but are perhaps more notable for their gorgeous striated colors. The third unit in the park, the Clarno Unit, was once the site of a tropical forest. According to the National Park Service, "Tiny four-toed horses, huge rhino-like brontotheres, crocodilians, and meat-eating creodonts that once roamed ancient jungles are now found in the rocks of the Clarno Unit."

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