Best Fossil Beaches in the World?

If I was taking a paleontologist on vacation and promising her daylight strolls along fossil covered beaches... where would I go?

I know the southern tip of England around Devon and Dorchester is called Jurassic Coast because of all the fossils that have been found in the limestone cliffs there, but where else in the world boasts a dynamic fossil hunter's paradise?

I'm no expert on this subject, but on the island of Gozo (in Malta) we took daylight strolls along the limestone cliffs laden with fossils. I can't vouch for dinasaur fossils, but it was still pretty interesting.

The shorelines of Latvia, Lithuania, and (Russian) Kaliningrad turn up a very interesting fossil--amber. (90% of the world's amber is mined in Kaliningrad.)

Amber is fossilized tree resin. The Baltic littoral had once been coniferous forest. The fossilized tree sap is lighter than water, and floats! Right after storms, beachcombers go looking for amber that has been churned up from the sea bottom and washed on shore.

Occlusions in amber, ie flies, frogs, dinosaur DNA etc., are not as common as you might think, and the great bulk of jewelry with such is fake. You probably won't find anything valuable, but it's a fun way to find your fossils. Good luck.

What a great idea! It would be awesome to have a list compiled. One of my favorite things is finding things on the beach.

I don't have much imput except to say that DON'T take her to San Diego beaches - for fossils. I can never find anything out here. I know all the shops must import their seaside goods. Much better luck on the east coast.

calvert cliffs - Maryland

Brownie's Beach


article on fossil hunting in the us

Karoo Basin....not too far from the beach

this site lists all fossils ever discovered and categorizes them by continent. Pretty interesting stuff.

Calvert cliffs looks pretty slick, at least from the water!
Check out Solomans Island while you are there. They have a few cool museums.

Not exactly the beach, but on the pamlico sound of NC...
Theres a gigantic phosphate mine in Aurora, NC. They find layers of old sea creatures. It is a massive pit, They mine 24 hours a day, and the lights shine on the horizon thirty miles away. It seems like the counties hobby is picking through the loose gravel and finding shark teeth as big as your hand. A few times a year the mining company opens the massive pit for the picking... http://www.aurorafossilmuseum.com/