Mid-Atlantic Fossil Sites


Fossils from a number of geologic eras are readily available in the mid-atlantic region. The map below illustrates those areas, and the sites listed below are the ones that I've personally visited and at which I've had some success:

nationalatlas.gov


M A R Y L A N D

Part of Calvert Claffs Brownie's Beach (also known as Bayfront Park) is one of the few publicly accessible beaches on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It lies just south of the village of Chesapeake Beach see Google Maps and is impossible to find if you don't know where to look. The location features a ton of fossilized sharks teeth, some porpoise bones, and fossilized shark vertebrae.

Here are the directions (from the North):

Take route 2, which runs south from Annapolis. If you are coming from Baltimore, take the I-97, and immediately exit when it merges with routes 50/301 east, and follow the signs for Solomons Island Rd. Stay on route 2, past the round-about which you have to take for 3 quarters. Take the exit to Chesapeake Beach, at the (2nd) traffic lights. This gets you on route 260. Follow 260 until it ends at a traffic light in Chesapeake Beach, and take a right on to 261. You should have seen the waters of the Bay straight ahead as you drove in. (When you have time, go left here, and enjoy the beautiful board walk and beach in downtown North Beach!) Drive all the way through Chesapeake Beach. Just outside of town you drive down a little hill. At the bottom of the hill is a shoulder on the left hand side of the road, and a road disappears into the forest, leading to a little parking lot (sounds just like one of the early text-based adventure games). If it is really busy you may have to park on the shoulder. From the parking lot it is about 200 meters (650 feet for the non metric folks) to the beach.

You should also visit my friend Edwin's Brownies Beach Fossil site, which is the definitive resource for fossil hunting here.

Paint Branch Stream, College Park (need permission of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, 301.627.2270)

Purse State Park, Nanjemoy, MD (need permission from the Department of Natural Resources) 410.974.3589

Calvert State Park, off MD Route 2 & 4, Lusby, Calvert County, Miocene (15 million). Scallops, other shells, some shark's teeth and whale and porpoise bones. 301.856.8987

Henson Creek Hiker/Biker Trail (need permission of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, 301.627.2270)

Flag Ponds Nature Park, off Route 2 & 4, St. Leonard, Calvert County, Shell, coral, sand dollar fragments, bone, sharks' teeth. Admission. 410.586.1477 or 410.586.5327

Breezy Point, MD Route 4 to Route 261 south, east on Breezy Point Road, Chesapeake Beach, Calvert County, MD. Small sharks' teeth.



V I R G I N I A

Williamsburg Fossil Site Williamsburg Spillway Fossil Outcrop Williamsburg, VA, Spillway: Along Jamestown Road across from Lake Matoaka. This site features a nice array of fossils...a huge ledge with multiple Chesapectens mixed with Isognomon and smaller fossils that I'm still working to ID.

Williamsburg, VA, William & Mary Campus Creek: There are some decent, small fossils on the sandbanks of the creek running through campus. The best spot to look is in the shallow creek just under the walkway bridge.




W E S T    V I R G I N I A

Green Bank, WV, Fossil HuntingScenic Overlook, in-between Green Bank and Seneca, WV: This site is located off Route 28 at Cherry Ridge/Grove and is near Snowy Mountain Road/Route 17. I'll post a number of photos of the location so you can easily find it. But, it'll be one of the only areas with pull-off parking that's near the location outlined above.