A Change of Scenery

by Jeff Yocum

toothing

When our children were young, my wife and I were always on the scout for outdoor activities that were fun, healthy, educational (without them realizing it), and above all, cheap. In that pursuit, we discovered “toothing.” Not to be confused with “teething” that involves a crying infant constantly gnawing on something to ease its dental discomfort. “Toothing” is the act of searching for fossil shark teeth.

The east coast of the United States is flush with beaches and rivers, rife with fossil shark teeth. Within the Capital Area, Maryland and Virginia have many sites open to the public. Calvert Cliffs State Park, Flag Ponds Nature Center, Westmoreland State Park, and Purse State Park, to name just a few. Some are developed with facilities and visitor centers. Some have no facilities or staffing at all. Do a little research before you go to find the best match for your circumstances. Listed are a few of the websites available; this is not an exhaustive list: Westmoreland State Park; Flag Ponds Nature Park, Calvert County, MD — Official Website; Calvert Cliffs State Park.

If it’s your first time, be aware that you will most likely do some wading in shallow water. Plan for wet clothes, sand, and the potential for sunburn and bug bites. Some beaches have driftwood piles and steep cliffs that may be 30 feet high, so plan on walking over wet, rugged terrain in some places. You may want to stop by the hardware store before going and purchase a nail apron to tie around your waist to hold your found treasures.

Many of the sites offer other marine fossils as well, such as crocodile teeth. When our family first started toothing, we found dolphin ribs and vertebrae, sting ray plates, and a variety of mollusk fossils. It may take a little while to get your eye calibrated to spot the teeth, but once it “clicks” for you, you’ll know. And don’t be surprised how small some of the teeth are. It’s easy to slip in a little science about biology, ecology, and the region’s geology before your kids have time to roll their eyes. Toothing must have made an impression on our kids’ childhood. Even as adults, they still take time to hunt, as do their children