Point A Dam Andalusia Alabama

[Guest BOHUNTER]

I asked the Kids if they wanted to go find some shark teeth today.... The house Exploded! So I had my screen makings so I made 5 in a matter of 45 minutes. Loaded the kids up and went for the ride. Its about 1:30 from my house to Andalusia. We rolled in kids were glad to get there finally.... and after about 30 steps a LIghtning bolt cracked across the sky and it looked like a covey of quail scattering! LOL Man they like to knocked me down getting back inthe truck! so we drove up there and nice afternoon storm blew in! GREAT! ... So we camped out at Subway for about 30 minutes and sun came back out and the expedition was on again! Arriving back down at the dam, it was peaceful. Drops dripping from the trees, frogs croaking, and kids in a steady chatter! Well if you have ever been there its a haul down to the spot. It had been a good 2 years since I was last down there and it changed a little! LOL

Well my wife has a bum ankle! Nice slick conditions and down hill terrain wasnt great for her ankle. We made it down river to the right area. Well the area was about 50 yards down from the last time i was there now. Torpedo grass has covered the area.

If you have ever dug there you know the South side of the river has the Eocene formation. Its about 4-5 feet thick and is tight green sand. So I cut me a path to the bank and started the dig hole. I learned to dig the lower 1/3 rd of the formation, seemed to hold more teeth. Again it proved correct. Problem was I had 3 kids, 4.7.7 and before I could get the first load to the screens they found freshwater CLAMS.... So the girls couldnt see anything but clams, clam here clam there and clams everywhere. I was about to have a coronary in the 110* Heat Index Humid weather for a dang CLAM!!! LOL Oh well... they are kids.... So My lil man and I dumped our first bucket... he said, "Look, a shark tooth!" Hot Dog he found his first ever Fossil!

He held it up, I didnt have the camera because of the haul. I knew more gear ..I had to carry.. So then the girls heard him, they ran over and my lil girl pulled a nice one out! Then we let Idell fiddle around and find her one inthe screen! Super! Two seconds later the girls were back in the clam business! Im pulling my hair.. remember I carried all the gear and drove all that weas and spent a mad 45 minutes to build the screens prior!!!.... Oh well....

All in all we had fun stayed till almost dark 30. I dug up 5-6 5 gallon buckets of material which we pulled about 30 teeth from. They needed to outdoors and I wanted to go again...LOL Wife.... well Ill be messaging that ankle later Im sure!

Ill get some pics of the teeth tomorrow in the light. All are of course small, but you are exposing them for the first time and they are pristine specimens normally.. Ill research tonight for Latin Names and the exact formation period Im sure its eocene. I did seperate my lil mans very first tooth, his Big tooth and a A+ Tiger shark tooth.. a hard one to find!... Some day he will thank me.

See what I have to put up with! LOL We had fun, but hard to keep those girls mind on the task at hand! Oh well we rolled back to the truck and I was beat! Kids ran the entire 600 yards... uphill....LOL

[coral daddy]

cool steve, show some pics of the goodies

[Guest BOHUNTER]

Im not gonna snap a pic of all 30 teeth Coral Daddy! LOL Here are the real important ones!

Tooth #1 My Sons very first ever Fossil!

Tooth #2 My Sons largest fossil tooth!

Tooth #3 My Sons very first Tiger Shark tooth!

Im posting these two together. I know the common name of Tiger Shark fits the left one, but the other one is bulbous and slightly different. Same species?

This is one of many we get like this. I have a bucket full I found... OK a small bucket....about 200.. Look close it has actually 5 teeth. Im ready for a lecture on proper names and discriptive tooth parts and pieces! LOL

Im headed out Tuesday to find more for the ol Collection! Different place and larger toothies! But you cant erase that grin my lil man had holding that first tooth up! ... Haaa I still have mine on!

Steve

Edited August 1, 2010 by BOHUNTER

[Auspex]

Way cool!

Family fossiling is an event to treasure.

[fossiljunkie]

nice.everyone looks happy. great to see.

[PaleoRon]

Nice preservation on those teeth and it sounds like you had a blast finding them.

[Guest N.AL.hunter]

Great story!! Question: Did you use a scanner to take those pics?

[worthy 55]

Looks like all had a great time!

Edited August 1, 2010 by worthy 55

[Guest BOHUNTER]

I used a Super Macro feature on my canon and then Adobe Photoshop to crop area to shrink to 640x480 and then sharpen. Pictures were taken with flash so they are bright but not true. Natural light is way better. No shadows usually then.

[brachiomyback]

enjoyed the story...

I would love to have a "clean" creek like that to bring my kids to for a fossil outing..

Very nice macro shot of those teeth cusps too.

[siteseer]

That second tiger is a Physogaleus secundus tooth. It's an extinct relative of the tiger shark.

[Guest BOHUNTER]

Hey Thanks... Ill make a note of that! I got a lot of them unknown species.. Is there an online reference for Shark teeth?

[Auspex]

Hey Thanks... Ill make a note of that! I got a lot of them unknown species.. Is there an online reference for Shark teeth?

elasmo.com is very good.

[Guest jeepbrew]

Nice finds! I am thinking about going next week. Any tips?

[dinodigger]

Those are really nice. Two different species of Tiger, one on left is definitely Galeocerdo, but not sure if the other is same genus. That last one is a beautiful Carcharias sp. Do you know what formation this site represents?

[dinodigger]

Second from right in middle row looks like Striatolamia, species might be macrota. The larger tooth may be serratolamna or cretalamna(?) not sure about that one. You'll get a ton more responses with names.

[dinodigger]

the bottom row, two on the right are Brachycarcharias sp, might include the second from left too, but not sure.

[Megalodon_hunter]

Great photos!!

[Guest BOHUNTER]

When I was first shown the Section, I was educated on the proper extraction method or area.

When you turn at the fire tower and head down to the parking area, you will have to remember its a LONG ways to the site. Your on foot from there. So tools need to be lightweight but I wouldnt skimp on a good shovel. Round point prefered. Sharpen it! Sharpen from the back side not the top side you see. Sharper the easier it cuts into the side walls you will be digging into.

As you arrive at the dam looking West you will see the path people take, its wet, its slick and be careful. You will go under a willow tree, if you dont your not in the right area assuming you are on the Southern side of the dam. As you walk down this side you will see it also has another level below you about 3-5 feet down, drop down when you see a good slope to take. To your right is a sheer wall about 4 feet high off the water, your in the right spot keep going... You will go a GOOD 150-200 yards down stream, past the second island area which is now attached to land so its just a pennisula now. Watch for SNAKES in the torpedo grass... OK... Now you just dropped down another 2 feet that you probably missed but as you look back you say... dang sure did! Now as you walk along the trail you will see earth to the left and water to the right. Find a place where the water and land meet without having to worry about a creepy crawler coming too close ... Drop your screen and take a break!

After you think of why in the heck you walked 3000 yards down here to find these tiny shark teeth look up to the heavens into the bright blue sky and that is why, its peaceful! Ok break over, reality setting in now. Turn and look to the south and you will see grown up is a bank, beat cut or whatever and get to the bank. You can see where people have rooted it up. You want to dig at the base of the Eocene layer which is dark greenish grey sand, and its tight too. Im sure there is goodies inthe higher levels but the bottom has always produced since it is underlain with a hard clay layer. Cant penetrate that so the teeth lay above it.

Dig, fill a bucket carry to the river spill, Kids and I bucketed about 5 fills and we got about 30 teeth. All within an good hour. The key is a man on the shovel. I believe I have a new extraction for this tight sand cause it is very solid packed.

Just give me credit.. and dont tell everyone... LOL Yall see the garden weasels, the crooked spiral of tongs on the end of a t handle... Weed puller looking tool. This should penetrate the sand a WHOLE LOT better than the shovel plus it shouldnt cut a tooth in half either. Its a stronger tool for the job, then use the shovel to scoop out the loosened fossil sands. I will have me one next time for sure.

I will be headed up there with my 7 year old next week. Monday - Wednesday one of those days for sure. Here is a great guide to look at also before you make the drive. This is a controlled water area, if you hear a signal then the dam will be releasing, if it has rained and the lakes are full they will be releasing. I look at this guage on the Conecuh River and NORMALLY... the range is 2 feet, 3 wont hurt you either, you can also see the release pattern from the dam hours.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/al/nwis/current/?type=flow

Look down the list till you see River Falls. the number ends with "30" thats what I usually look for. You can then activate the hyperlink and observe the data.

I live close but takes me 2 hours to get there. The teeth are normally very pristine. You are within 10 minutes of Andalusia, or basically a food source. This is a long river. it later widens and has a lot of feeder streams and mor eplaces to gain volume. Ive seen this rascal 20 plus feet flood stage, its roaring then! I come through Brewton, 45 miles away from Andalusia. There are several other places to search but I wont post them on the board... LOL Haaaa Its Eocene, since I flintknap I call it the TQ layer, Tallahatta Quartzite would be the formation to me. Ive heard of some killer 3 inch ric teeth and whale verts from here. I cant wait to get into some nice finds.

STEVE

Edited August 13, 2010 by Auspex

[Guest BOHUNTER]

I had no idea the Sand Tiger shark had so many different tooth styles. I appreciate the names, Im gonna have to study up on Latin again! I understand Common Names better. But it makes me look up the others!

[kevin95]

This is a great hunting spot. The teeth are very well preserved in the in-situ sand. You can also scoop loose sand/sediment from the potholes in the rock on the river bottom and find teeth. I have heard of indian relics being found on and around the island. Due to the drought, the water level is very low so you can wade the width of the river.

Edited July 9, 2011 by kevin95

[triggerfishmel]

Hi, my two brothers and I are thinking of heading up there to look for sharks teeth. We will be coming from Ft Walton Beach, Florida and are planning a long weekend. Are there any permits we need to apply for to look for shark's teeth or fossils. In Florida it is an inexpensive permit and is good for a year. I know the regulations in my state, but what about in Alabama? We are looking a Point A Dam. Any tips on where to stay up there? I am loving the photos. I have found 6 shark's teeth just doing morning beach walks in my area.

[jwcounts]

I spent a lot of time at Point A doing field work in the early 2000s. Good to see it is still productive. I found some pretty big teeth there (like the one in my profile pic). Nope, you don't need a permit.

My professor thought that the tooth-producing green sand should actually be moved to the overlying Lisbon formation, with the top of the Tallahatta being on top of the siliceous claystone that is exposed in the riverbed. The claystone top is a sequence boundary, and the glauconitic, fossil rich sand is the condensed section (slow sedimentation rate). The big teeth (2-3 inches) are rare but they are out there.

[Corvair1]

Can anyone provide directions from Andalusia traveling on north on Highway 29 to the place where you park below Point A Dam?

[sixgill pete]

great fun

great finds

great family time

AWESOME!!!!!