caldigger Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 (edited) OK, I finally took a camera with me on this one. For the past year, I have visited an area about an hour south of me that is a source for Great White teeth and other marine animal parts. But for the most part, GW teeth is the majority of what is found. Now the location is perched on a steep hillside about 7 miles inland of the Pacific Ocean. It was a deposit that had been cut through by a river and re-deposited in a different location, much like many of the sites along the east coast are now. However, the redeposition was done a very long time ago. It is found about 200 feet above the valley floor and goes up at an angle due to faulting (what else would you expect in California, the land of earthquakes?) The formation consists of what I can easily call cemented gravel (heavy emphasis on the cement part!) I only have a hand pick and a trench trowel (folding shovel) to somehow work my way through that "rock". It doesn't take long swinging a pick with one hand to wear you out. By the end of the day, My arm feels like limp spaghetti. Because this ground is so hard and worked by river action, finding a whole tooth with roots intact is something of a rarity. Mostly you will find shards of crown enamel or the teeth are so worn they have no serrations at all. I had worked a hole for a while only to figure out the actual deposit was about 12" below the floor of my pit. Did I mention the deposit goes up at an angle? Missed it!!!! OH MAN! I had to backtrack removing my tailing pile and having to re dig the hole to a lower level. Did I mention the humidity was about 105%? I was completely drenched in sweat. Nobody said fossil hunting was easy work!!!! The first photos are the small hole I had to dig to establish the fossil layer once the tailings were removed. Believe me that ground is much harder than it looks. Guess I can skip the gym this week! Last photo is the day's tally. All Great Whites except for a small Cow Shark tooth. The top tooth on the left is 2 1/8" there is a small tooth in matrix at the bottom (note there is no root). I was lucky enough to get three with whole roots this trip. Thank you for putting up with my rabbling. Doren/ caldigger Edited September 4, 2016 by caldigger 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David E. Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Nice teeth and even better story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Very nice Doran. That little Cow Shark is great. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 No pain, no gain right? Lovely teeth, thanks for sharing your story and finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 The trials we endure through the hunt! Excellent report and great finds, Doren. Thanks for posting. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Very nice teeth! Definitely worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrieder79 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Hey! Great teeth. Its neat to see how the area looks where you are hunting. So different from the dredge piles I'm used to. Thanks for sharing. Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Nice finds!! Good to hear that You are getting out and finding nice things! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Breakin' Rocks Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 " Nobody said fossil hunting was easy work!!!! " Hahaha ... remind me to regale you about the time I went down into the creeks in Gainesville Florida with-out my mosquito repellent. We suffer for what again ? Amazing teeth. Cheers, B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barerootbonsai Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 very nice, you must be popye lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinlukers Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Nice!!! Well worth the story. Even you can find junk in the hills. I guess what you find is better then nothing!!! Keep digging!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Some sweet finds there Doren : ) Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCW3D Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 I'm impressed that you even found such a spot! very cool! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Caldigger, can you share any photos of other C carcharias teeth you've found at this location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Nice finds and love the colors! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 It may have been a lot of work but the colors on those teeth are fantastic.! Kara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 BACK TO THE BREECH! Well the next week I went back down to attempt finishing the layer I exposed. However, with much tiring pounding at the rocks I came up almost completely void of any teeth. I did obtain several vertebras, a dolphin inner ear bone, a whale bulla, and a small anterior tooth at the very end of the day. There is still about four feet to go on this hole which I will need to save for yet another day. Hopefully I can hit some teeth again the next trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 24 minutes ago, caldigger said: BACK TO THE BREECH! Well the next week I went back down to attempt finishing the layer I exposed. However, with much tiring pounding at the rocks I came up almost completely void of any teeth. I did obtain several vertebras, a dolphin inner ear bone, a whale bulla, and a small anterior tooth at the very end of the day. There is still about four feet to go on this hole which I will need to save for yet another day. Hopefully I can hit some teeth again the next trip. Those verts, tho Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Nice! What is the size of the whale bulla? Do you have some refs to ID it ?( just because I also found one ( identified as such) this summer ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 Therry, the bulla is about 8cm long. I'm not sure if it can be positively ID'd. It is missing some of it's elements. The bullas that I have found here as well as this one have the strength of hard candy and tend to shatter quite easily. This one broke into three pieces removing it from the ground before I repaired it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Hard candy it may be , but surely candy to the eye , Doren !These look really nice and shiny.Mine is 4 cm long , so it would be somewhat consistent with an Dolphin ID rather than whale ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientEarth Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 What a story indeed. On 9/6/2016 at 8:10 PM, Twinlukers said: Nice!!! Well worth the story. Even you can find junk in the hills. I guess what you find is better then nothing!!! Keep digging!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 The story's a little old by now, but nevertheless now I know why you call yourself caldigger We sure are a crazy bunch, aren't we? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Nice finds and I like it when some one else has to dig the material out, not just me. Mike D'Arcy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Nice double report Doren. Cool teeth. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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