espeton Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi everyone, I just move two month ago to Maryland and I was wondering if somebody could advice me about places to go for fossil hunting in the Potomac river. I have been doing some research online and I only have found this two state parks: Westmoreland and Purse State Park. Do you guys recommend this two places? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessed1 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Westmoreland is Miocene in age and has a small area open to collecting usless you are part of the few limited groups allowed out of the regular collecting area. But even though it is small there are sometimes some nice teeth found there. Purse State Park in Palaeocene in age and has miles of collecting area to search. I have always been atracted to the Palaeocarcharodon orientalis thatta are found there and so have collected it much more often than Westmoreland. If you are looking for big numbers of teeth then Purse can't be beaten but most will be worn. Here is a photo of why I am drawn to Purse State Park. Edited February 11, 2014 by obsessed1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busyeagle Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I agree with obsessed1 - a lot of the cliffs at Westmoreland have been riprapped, so the potential for collecting is limited there, but Purse is an excellent place to start in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 get the book "Fossil Collecting in Maryland" from the state geological survey or some museum stores, not sure why this invaluable reference wouldn't show up on an internet search, there are other books available from the survey that give sites as well, some of them are available for free as pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espeton Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks everybody for the advice. Obsessed1 this is a very nice tooth!! How big is it? Do you have any picture from the other side of that tooth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternShore88 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Purse State Park is good. Went down there this past weekend to look around a bit and was greeted by icebergs. You will find a lot of teeth but like Obsessed mentioned, they will be worn, and most will be very small. There are better areas in the state but without a boat you are limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavialboy Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Douglas point is another great place to fossil hunt for Paleocene fossils on the Potomac and is actually before purse I live near their Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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