A Good Day Along the Calvert Cliffs

[Bjohn170]

Got a surprise day off work on Tuesday so I decided to hit the cliffs to make the most of the day off. I got to the ramp around 10am to launch my kayak and headed to a beach I hadn’t been to in a little while. The trip started slow but I found a couple nice Hemipristis teeth to start getting my hopes up. I want finding to much in the wash and the water was to murky to find anything deep so I spent some time looking through debris around some fresh falls. Lo and behold a beautiful 1.75” Thecachampsa tooth is sitting right on top of one of the falls.

 

 

It dried with some strange white staining that I wasn’t able to clean off, but none the less it’s still a great tooth. Continuing on I find a heartbreaking 2.3” megalodon that was broken almost in half (at least I got the larger half). Finishing up I got a few more nice Hemis and a handful of other nice smaller teeth. All in all in was a good day along the cliffs and it sure beat working. Thanks for reading, see y’all next time. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Balance]

Looks like an awesome day! Thanks for sharing.  I need to get up there for a trip one day.  Could rent a little pull behind rv trailer and make a long weekend of it. Bring the kiddos. What’s the best time of year to plan a trip? I live in Florida so it’s a full day ++ of  driving in one shot. 
 

Is the white stuff on the surface or under the outer enamel layer? 
 

If it’s on the surface it could be a mineral coating. Quartz does a thing called drusy where it frost on top of other minerals. 
 

If it’s under the surface it reminds me of a cabinet door with old lacquer clear coat. Where the lacquer has popped free of the wood you’ll get white frosty spots. Can’t do anything because it’s under the opposite side of the clear coat. If the outer enamel layer was starting to separate I could see it creating a frosty look like that. 
 

If it goes away when it’s wet that’s exactly what those frost spots on the cabinet will do too. Then it dries and the frost returns. To fix a cabinet door you sand it and feather it. Then re coat the lacquer. In this case a fossil friendly clear coat on the outside off the tooth might do the trick at keeping the delaminating areas hidden. 
 

Just ideas… 

 

Jp

[Bjohn170]

2 hours ago, Balance said:

Looks like an awesome day! Thanks for sharing.  I need to get up there for a trip one day.  Could rent a little pull behind rv trailer and make a long weekend of it. Bring the kiddos. What’s the best time of year to plan a trip? I live in Florida so it’s a full day ++ of  driving in one shot. 
 

Is the white stuff on the surface or under the outer enamel layer? 
 

If it’s on the surface it could be a mineral coating. Quartz does a thing called drusy where it frost on top of other minerals. 
 

If it’s under the surface it reminds me of a cabinet door with old lacquer clear coat. Where the lacquer has popped free of the wood you’ll get white frosty spots. Can’t do anything because it’s under the opposite side of the clear coat. If the outer enamel layer was starting to separate I could see it creating a frosty look like that. 
 

If it goes away when it’s wet that’s exactly what those frost spots on the cabinet will do too. Then it dries and the frost returns. To fix a cabinet door you sand it and feather it. Then re coat the lacquer. In this case a fossil friendly clear coat on the outside off the tooth might do the trick at keeping the delaminating areas hidden. 
 

Just ideas… 

 

Jp

I’d say I’d definitely worth a trip up here some time, be sure to let me know when you do!

 

I do think the staining is under the enamel, as is fades slightly when wet and come back when it dries. Plus I did a lot of scrubbing and rinsing with water and vinegar. At this point it’s a little upsetting but I’m going to leave it as is, it’s still a great tooth! Thanks!

[AlwaysISOSharkTeeth412]

Great finds and trip recap! I’ve travelled out to Calvert twice now (from Pittsburgh), both times going to Matoaka Cabins. I’d love on my next trip to do as you do, launching by kayak, but have no direction on where to launch or go. Are there any locations or guidance you’d be willing to share, publicly or privately? 

[Danielb]

Nice finds!

[automech]

A Google search of boat, canoe, or, kayak launches for Calvert County would be a good place to start. I'm pretty sure the folks at Matoaka would let you launch a kayak from the beach head.

[Bjohn170]

3 hours ago, AlwaysISOSharkTeeth412 said:

Great finds and trip recap! I’ve travelled out to Calvert twice now (from Pittsburgh), both times going to Matoaka Cabins. I’d love on my next trip to do as you do, launching by kayak, but have no direction on where to launch or go. Are there any locations or guidance you’d be willing to share, publicly or privately? 

There are a few public boat ramps along the cliffs, but prices to launch at them range from $5-$15. As for which direction to go, the cliffs are 23 miles long, with different exposures and fossils on each beach. You really can’t go wrong pulling up to any stretch of beach under or near the cliffs to begin searching. There are numerous “dead zones” where there are not many fossils but the only way to know is to check them out! Let me know if you come down this way, maybe we can meet up for a trip!

[AlwaysISOSharkTeeth412]

I’m eyeing a trip out sometime this month, so let’s definitely stay in touch!

[Andúril Flame of the West]

As always a great haul and kudos to you for braving the weather! That croc tooth is impeccable and definitely a trip maker.

[Bjohn170]

8 hours ago, Andúril Flame of the West said:

As always a great haul and kudos to you for braving the weather! That croc tooth is impeccable and definitely a trip maker.

Thank you! As long as the wind isn’t to bad, the cold won’t stop me!

[Rock Hound]

Nice Hemipristis finds!!!