Is it possible to find fossils on the north shore of Long Island, New York?

[thebasin]

Hello everyone, I am brand new to this forum, so I apologize if this is not the right place to ask this question.
I live on Long Island, New York and I am curious if anyone has any experience with hunting the beach for fossils. I am aware of Long Island's geological history and how fossils are pretty hard to come by, but I have heard in recent history that it is indeed possible to locate them. I have heard Caumsett State park could be a potential option, and that it is primarily plant fossils that are found. If anyone could point me in the right direction or has knowledge of this, I would appreciate some feedback!

[Fossildude19]

It's possible, but very difficult.  Beaches often have things brought up from the depths.

It is a new adventure, every time you walk on a beach, as to what can be found.

 

You would have to spend lots of time, blood sweat and maybe tears to find fossils there.  No pain=no gain.

My best finds have usually come from numerous outings to the same area, sometimes with very disappointing results. Sometimes, with glorious finds.

 

And many state parks do not allow collecting - something to be aware of. 

Get out there, and start looking! 

Good luck.

[Oxytropidoceras]

Long Island is a glacial moraine that is highly urbanized. The glacial deposits are largely from plutonic igenous rocks and metamorphic strata and they they deeply bury the underlying Cretaceous deposits except for a very rare areas where they were once at the surface before urbanization. Thus, fossils are few and far bewteen and a lot "...of time, blood sweat and maybe tears..." and good luck will be needed to find them. A place to start is read through and look at the plates in Geology of Long Island (Plate 1, Plate 2), Water-Resources Investigations Report 82-4056, and Water Supply Paper 1613-A, which provide a general background of Long Island's geology. Then, a person might more references using Google Scholar.

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

Edited May 12 by Oxytropidoceras
fine tuned text

[TRexEliot]

Possible, but very hard, as has been said. The majority of rocks on Long Island are glacial till deposited during the last ice age from Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (if my understanding of the direction the glaciers traveled is correct), and all three are pretty fossil poor states. I live on the North Shore of Long Island, and do most of my hunting at Big Brook in New Jersey, which is a few hour drive.