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Calvert Cliffs Fossil Trip

Fall Calvert Cliffs Area Fossil Shark Teeth Hunting Trip - 2010

Calvert Cliffs of Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay - Miocene Fossils



"An overexposed picture of the Miocene cliff exposures makes the place look little surreal"


Fall Calvert Cliffs Area Fossil Trip Report - 2010

I've been traveling most of the 2010 summer, so I didn't do much fossil hunting. However, with the close of summer came the annual Nanjemoy Heritage festival. This festival takes place near a bunch of fossil hunting grounds at the Bay and Potomac River in Maryland, so it makes for a nice extended fossil hunting weekend. I figured this would be a good opportunity to get back in the swing of things.

So, for the third year in a row I loaded my SUV with 50 gallons of Pungo reject from Aurora, fossil displays, a jet ski, and headed south. The highlight of the setup is the "Find Your Own Fossils" section for the kids. Here, kids search through the Pungo material and find fossil shark teeth.

After the event, I made my way to the various boat launches near Miocene and Paleocene exposures. The weather was nice and the waves were calm. Unfortunately, the waves were a little too calm. It appeared there wasn't much wave action over the past few days to wash the fossils from their hiding places.

In the end, I managed to snag two Miocene aged crocodile teeth. Both were worn, one being almost unrecognizable. However they are more difficult to find than the standard shark fossils. Although not allot of fossils were found, it was a nice little getaway!



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The 2010 Nenjemoy Heritage Festival, where futuer paleontologists search for prehistoric monsters.

The 2010 Nenjemoy Heritage Festival, where futuer paleontologists search for prehistoric monsters.



Yours truly is searching a gravel bar for Paleocene shark teeth. I didn't really find much in the Paleocene spot.

Yours truly is searching a gravel bar for Paleocene shark teeth. I didn't really find much in the Paleocene spot.



Here are a few fossil finds from the Miocene Calvert Cliff exposures.

Here are a few fossil finds from the Miocene Calvert Cliff exposures.


Fossils Found:


Here are most of the fossils found. Included is a partial ray plate, a large porpoise tooth, and a very worn croc tooth. There is another croc tooth in the image below. Sadly, no makos found hit the 2

Here are most of the fossils found. Included is a partial ray plate, a large porpoise tooth, and a very worn croc tooth. There is another croc tooth in the image below. Sadly, no makos found hit the 2" mark, and no megalodons were found.



I forgot these few fossils in the jet ski, so they weren't included in the first image.

I forgot these few fossils in the jet ski, so they weren't included in the first image.



A partial ray plate

A partial ray plate



This is a REALLY worn crocodile tooth, one of two found during the trip.

This is a REALLY worn fossil crocodile tooth, one of two found during the trip.



This is the other fossil crocodile tooth, it's a little less worn, but the other side is damaged.

This is the other fossil crocodile tooth, it's a little less worn, but the other side is damaged.



This is a worn fossil dolphin tooth. It's a little larger than what is normally found.

This is a worn fossil dolphin tooth. It's a little larger than what is normally found.


Wildlife Shots:


A common five-lined skink. They are small, hard to spot, and hard to take pictures of!

A common five-lined skink. They are small, hard to spot, and hard to take pictures of!



A Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly sits on a rock containing seashell fossils.

A Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly sits on a rock containing seashell fossils.



Here a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly poses on a twig.

Here a Red Spotted Purple Butterfly poses on a twig.





Recommended Books for Shark Tooth Identification


Fossil Shark Teeth of the World
, A Collector's Guide
by Joe Cocke, Copyright 2002

A great book for identifying all those teeth. This book is laid out "as simple as possible." It's ease of use and small size makes it great to carry during collecting trips. This book shows teeth from around the globe, but all the Calvert teeth can be found in it.



Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region
by Bretton W. Kent, Copyright 1994

This is a classic for identifying all those teeth at the Calvert Cliffs. It's a must for any beginner collector that fossil hunts in the Maryland/Virginia area.
Unfortunately, this book is out of print. There's used ones on amazon for super insane amounts of money, but SOMETIMES there is a used one available for a few bucks.


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