Minus Tides Reward Beachcombers

Weather was great for a trip to the beach or fishing today. It was sprinkling as we left but once we got down to the beach it was dry and warm. There were so many fishing boats out today and people on the beach with their families and their dogs great fun for everyone.

We just got home from Seal Rock with this beautiful collection of stones for the kids. They are anxiously awaiting their new collection to get their rock polishers started again. The beaches were so busy with cars all over the place at all of the better known collecting spots. We spent about 4 hours actually laying in the gravel talking and just picking up sea (rarely seen intact on our rocky coastline) shells, sea glass plus many colorful jaspers and agates one after another as we visited together with our friend Scott. There must have been about 12 other folks getting down in the gravel too just sitting there with pebbles all around them. We found the biggest one in the photo as we were heading home in South Beach, it weighs in at over 1¼ pounds and 4 inches across - - >

Hope you and yours are having a safe and happy holiday this weekend!

Minus Tides On the Central Oregon Coast

Wonderful morning minus tides are predicted for the Central Oregon coast to make for great fun family activities of tide pooling and beach combing for fossils and agates now through June 1st. Just remember to keep a watchful eye on the children and never turn your back on the ocean!

Editors notes: This is a live view looking south to the Yaquina, Head Lighthouse from the Moolack Beach area (Newport, Oregon). This location is well known as a scenic place to see that provides terrific shell fossils found among the cobbles exposed by the ocean. The image refreshs approximately every seven minutes. Click your refresh/reload button to be sure you are viewing the most recent images.

Complete Wolly Mammoth Tooth Found

This is a very rare find for here on the Oregon Coast. This fossil tooth was actually found here on the central Oregon coast a couple of years ago and I finally had a chance to get a photo of Craig's wonderful beach combing find. It weighs close to 5 pounds, and appears to be that of an adult complete sixth tooth (due to the size of it). Congratulations to Craig on this magnificent find.

Through research it has been stated that elephants were plentiful in North America, and their fossils have been found in many states. However complete teeth are rarely found, more frequently would be individual plates or partial teeth.

Editors note: The top photo is the actual tooth showing the washboard effect. The lower image shows the bottom of the tooth that would have been below the gum.

Wonderful Agatized Fossils

Here is a summary of some of the most recent agatized fossils found here on the Oregon Coast by local beachcombers. These are really beautiful specimens and hope these will help you improve your collecting ability to collect fewer but better specimens and leave those common "leaverites" (leave it right there) on the beach for some one else. We would also like to take this time to thank the many folks that have shared their trophies with us that many others will learn more about responsible collecting.

Editors Notes: Photos to the left showing 2 black limb cast with fortification banding, were found by Scott of Newport. Upper right an enhydro (water agate) "Clam-Belly" Agate, found by Mary Lou of Newport. Lower right photo taken wet of a complete agatized gastropod (snail-like), found by Frank of Agate Beach.

Most striking Lavender Blue Agate

Over the years we have seen some agates from here on the coast resembling lavender-blue to a point but this one has them all beat. This just happens to be of the finest color wise comparable only to some of the best Holley Blue agate also found here in Oregon. Ken is one lucky dude that gets to spend his lunch hour beachcombing for agates on the Oregon Coast anywhere from Astoria to Brookings.