Isla Sorna Site B
The hidden nursery where prehistoric life evolved beyond human control.
Isla Sorna, designated internally as Site B, served as the hidden engine behind InGen’s genetic resurrection project long before tourists ever boarded a helicopter for Isla Nublar. Established in Costa Rica’s Pacific archipelago, this secluded island functioned as the primary breeding ground where thousands of prehistoric creatures were nurtured in semi-natural containment zones. Unlike its public-facing counterpart, Sorna prioritized utility over spectacle, operating with minimal human oversight once infrastructure was established. Following a catastrophic 1989 hurricane that severed power and communications, InGen evacuated all personnel, leaving the facility to decay. For over a decade, the dinosaurs were left to their own devices, evolving from captive specimens into a self-sustaining, dangerous wild population that would eventually force humanity back onto the island’s soil.
- Location
- Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Costa Rica
- Primary Function
- Secret Breeding and Rearing Facility (Site B)
- Parent Organization
- InGen (International Genetic Technologies)
- Current Status
- Abandoned / Wild Ecosystem
- Key Event
- 1989 Hurricane and subsequent evacuation
Lore & Background
Before Jurassic Park opened its gates, Site B was InGen’s secret workshop. Executives demanded a location away from prying eyes to breed and raise stock without leaks or liability. The island housed massive containment zones, automated feeders, and observation towers designed to mimic natural habitats while keeping strict genetic control. For years, handlers maintained the enclosures, monitoring herds in what was once a bustling scientific hub. Then came the 1989 hurricane. As power grids failed and comms went dark, InGen made the call to abandon the site entirely. Without electric fences or scheduled feedings, the dynamic shifted instantly. Predators claimed territories; herbivores adapted to forage. A complex, violent ecosystem emerged from the ruins, where social structures formed and survival instincts sharpened into a ferocity that would later terrify any human intruder. The facility now stands as skeletal concrete monuments, reclaimed by jungle vines and patrolled by the apex predators they were built to contain.
In Their Own Story
The humidity hung heavy in the air, thick with the scent of wet earth and rotting vegetation. Silence ruled the valley, broken only by the distant, guttural call of a predator echoing off the canyon walls. A rusted steel gate, once a barrier between man and beast, now lay twisted and half-buried in the mud, its warning signs faded to ghostly outlines against the green. High above on a crumbling observation deck, vines strangled the steel railing like constrictors, offering no protection against the elements or what stalked below. The control room was a tomb of dead monitors and shattered glass, silent witnesses to the moment humanity lost control. Here, nature didn't just reclaim the land; it conquered the technology, turning every machine into a monument of obsolescence while life—wild, untamed, and lethal—thrived in the shadows.
Reader's Guide
Isla Sorna represents the unsung, darker chapter of the InGen saga. While Isla Nublar is famous for its tragic failure as a theme park, Site B was the engine room that made it all possible. It was here that the cloning process moved from theory to reality on an industrial scale. The island's geography allowed for larger, more naturalistic enclosures than the smaller Nublar site, fostering a level of behavioral complexity in the animals that would later prove fatal when they were brought into contact with humans again.
The abandonment of Sorna was not merely a logistical retreat; it was an ecological experiment gone wrong. By leaving the dinosaurs to fend for themselves, InGen inadvertently created a self-sustaining prehistoric ecosystem. The lack of human management meant that natural selection took over immediately. Predators became more efficient hunters, and prey species developed better evasion tactics. This dynamic balance persisted until external forces, specifically corporate greed and curiosity, once again disturbed the peace.
Visitors to Sorna in later years found a world that had moved on without them. The infrastructure of InGen was decaying rapidly, reclaimed by the jungle, while the animals thrived. The site serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of human control over nature. It highlights the difference between managing animals for display and allowing them to exist in the wild, where they are free to be exactly what their DNA dictates: dangerous, majestic, and entirely independent.
Did You Know?
- Isla Sorna is located approximately 150 miles southwest of Isla Nublar within the same archipelago.
- The name 'Site B' was used internally by InGen to distinguish it from the public-facing 'Site A' on Isla Nublar.
- Unlike Nublar, where animals were contained for viewing, Sorna's population roamed freely across vast territories after the 1989 evacuation.
- Several major dinosaur species featured in later films established their first wild populations on this island.