Sharktooth Hill near Bakersfield, California, preserves an extraordinary collection of middle Miocene fossils. This guide covers its famous shark teeth, the geology of the bonebed, Ernst Quarries information, and what fossils one can find.
Key takeaway: Sharktooth Hill is famous for 15-million-year-old fossil shark teeth, including hooked white shark teeth. Shark Tooth Hill itself is a National Natural Landmark, however you can arrange to fossil collect nearby at Ernst Quarries.
A short video from my fossil hunting visit near Bakersfield.
Sharktooth Hill sits in the Sierra Nevada foothills northeast of Bakersfield and was first documented by William P. Blake in 1853 (Dupras, 1985). Its fossils come from the middle Miocene Round Mountain Silt of the Temblor Formation. Around 15.9–15.2 million years ago, higher sea levels covered much of California’s Central Valley, creating a marine environment sometimes called the Temblor Sea.
One thin, remarkably fossil-rich interval contains an enormous number of shark teeth and marine vertebrate bones. It was once explained mainly as a concentration of fossils reworked by currents. A detailed 2009 study by Pyenson and colleagues showed that the bonebed also records up to about 700,000 years of ordinary marine life and death during a prolonged period of unusually low sediment accumulation. Bones and teeth remained exposed on the seafloor, were moved around and became concentrated before burial.
Most fossils in the bonebed are isolated teeth or bones. In layers above it, however, more rapid burial sometimes preserved associated skeletons of whales, seals, sea cows and sea turtles. The Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and Science in Bakersfield displays and studies fossils from the area.
The fauna includes sharks and rays, bony fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and occasional land mammal remains. There are similarities to Miocene deposits on the East Coast, such as the Calvert Cliffs and the Pungo River Formation, but the species and their relative abundance differ.
One of the most recognizable local finds is the hooked white shark, Carcharodon planus, particularly its hooked upper teeth. Megalodon teeth can also turn up, though they were uncommon among the finds from my trip. See my prehistoric white shark identification gallery for more detailed tooth comparisons.
Sharktooth Hill is a designated National Natural Landmark, but that status does not create public access or change land ownership. Get permission before visiting or collecting. The Ernst family operates fossil-rich private quarries in the same general area and has long supported scientific research and the Buena Vista Museum. This is the practical route for visitors interested in an arranged fossil dig.
Check the official Ernst Quarries website for current trips, reservations, fees, access directions and equipment requirements. Do not enter private land or the protected landmark without permission. When you’re in Bakersfield, the Buena Vista Museum is also worth a visit for its local Miocene fossil displays.
Sharktooth Hill had been on my fossil hunting bucket list for years, but getting there from the East Coast wasn’t easy. During a December trip to Monterey, I decided to make the four-hour drive to Bakersfield. After all, how often would I be that close? The drive turned out to be more memorable than I expected.
I left Monterey at 3 a.m. and drove through dense valley fog. Four hours of fog and one flat tire later, I finally reached the entrance gate. Rain the previous day had made the hill muddy, so we waited for the ground to dry enough to drive without getting stuck.
Once we got to the quarry, Rob Ernst gave us a tour of the property and Slow Curve Quarry, where we would be digging. We started with surface collecting, but after about an hour without much luck, we picked a section of the hillside and got to work.
Our method was simple: I carefully dug along a productive layer while my fossil hunting partner sifted through the loose sediment for teeth I missed. It worked! By the time we left around 2 p.m., we had found quite a few fossils, including plenty of hooked white shark teeth, some whale teeth and whale vertebrae.
I would happily spend more time there next time. You can also see my later Sharktooth Hill trip, which includes additional fossils, photographs and video.
Bring water, sun protection and sturdy shoes; avoid unsupported quarry walls and check conditions and equipment rules with the operator before visiting.
The full-size image below is a quick reference for fossil shark teeth found at Sharktooth Hill. Compare tooth shapes here, and visit the prehistoric white shark fossil ID page for more detailed species identification.
Sharktooth Hill also preserves whale and other marine vertebrate fossils. Use the cetacean photograph below as a visual reference for recognizing some of the bones found in the area.
Explore additional shark teeth, other fossil finds and quarry photographs below. Click a thumbnail to see the full-size image and its caption.
Hooked white shark
Dogfish shark tooth
Angel shark tooth
Parotodus benedeni
A tooth in the shovel
Hooked white tooth
Tooth still in the matrix
Whale vertebra
Fossils from the dig
Fossil-bearing concretions
Quarry panorama
Slow Curve Quarry
Ernst Quarry
Digging for fossils
Kern River oil field
Identification note: Fossil teeth can vary with tooth position, species and wear. The quick captions here are a photo reference; the prehistoric white shark gallery provides closer views and additional identification details.
The famous Miocene fossil locality is northeast of Bakersfield, California. Nearby private quarries offer arranged visits.
The main bonebed is middle Miocene, approximately 15.9–15.2 million years old.
Fossil shark teeth, rays, fish, whale bones and other marine vertebrates are represented. Hooked white shark teeth are a well-known local find.
Not without permission. National Natural Landmark designation does not open private land to public collecting. Contact an authorized quarry and follow the landowner’s rules.
Carcharodon planus is an extinct Pacific shark with a noticeable hook on many of its upper teeth.
Dust from disturbed soil can carry fungal spores. Limit dust exposure and consult CDC guidance about N95 respirators when digging.
This Roadside Geology book is a great companion for road trips through Northern and Central California. It gives easy-to-understand overviews of regional geology and includes full-color maps, photos, illustrations, GPS coordinates, and explanations of geologic features you may drive past.
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This is a useful guide to rock and mineral collecting sites in Southern California. It contains maps, descriptive text, and both color and black-and-white photos covering 80 collecting sites.
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This is a great updated fossil sites book with at least one fossil site in each state. Each site is broken into two pages: one with detailed information such as directions, GPS coordinates, and formation information, and another with images of the site and fossils found there. It also includes fossil viewing sites such as dinosaur trackways, museums, and active excavations. Plus, my fossil photos are peppered throughout the book!
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