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As I haven't been out on the beaches in quite awhile, check us out on Facebook for the most recent details of beach combing on the Oregon Coast.  Happy holidays to all of you folks and stay safe!

Fossil Conifer Cone found at Moolack in Newport

Fossil Conifer Cone

This was a first for me to see and what a treat. Sandra shared her fossil conifer cone she had found while beach combing on the beach at Moolack.  Congratulations to Sandra on her prize find.

Rockhounding Oregon, Hot off the Press

Hot off the Press

Thank you Lars, we just received our autographed copy of Rockhounding Oregon today! Great job this makes a great companion book of locations to go with our pocket guides Oregon Under Foot and Agates of the Oregon Coast. We should have copies for sale next week at Wesley's Trading Post 136 SE 1st St here in Newport, Oregon.  541-265-4556.

Upcoming Field trips at Newport for fossils, etc...

Guy DiTorrice

Greetings Fossil Fans: Here is an invitation to attend one of the Oregon Fossil Guy's beach combing field trips on the beach at Newport. Yes, there is a fee for this wonderful educational experience with your guided professional.

Oregon Fossil Guy's Upcoming beach fossil field trips in the Newport area include:

Sunday July 13 8:00 am Moolack Beach (north of Newport in paved parking lot past Moolack Shores Motel)

Tuesday July 22 5:30 pm Beverly Beach State Park (meet in the day-use parking area west of the entrance)

Look for his dark-green jeep with the FOSSIL sign in the window. Only $39 per person [payable to "Guy DiTorrice"] with all collection supplies included (canvas collecting bag, gloves, brush, magnifying glass) and your collected specimens are identified, bagged and labeled. Participants receive a printed copy of the new fossil-collecting rules and the OSU Sea Grant fact sheet "Fossils You Can Find on Oregon Beaches". You provide solid footwear for walking on slick/mossy rock, large cobbles and long stretches of sandy beach as well as layered clothes, with recent foggy conditions making it a bit cool here.

Please pass this invitation along to any other fossil fan of interest and let him know any days or dates of interest to you. Hope to see you here.

Guy DiTorrice aka "Oregon Fossil Guy"
PO Box 1643
Newport OR 97365
[720] 326-3573 cell/text

Trophy agate found on the Pacific Coast

Darth Vader?

Here is last Thursday's agate trophy found by Sandra, one of our local beachcombers here on the Central Oregon Coast. Congratulations to Sandra on finding this beautiful black fortification agate among all of the Velella velella on the beach. That could not have been easy to see among all of that debris as the link to the (Velella velella) will show you.  

The center opening at the bottom shows a small pocket of druse or druzy quartz crystals which is a coating of small fine crystals which allows that area to be somewhat translucent under high intensity lighting. 

It's that time of the year again....

Hope to see you at the show!

Do you live in Oregon or are you visiting the beautiful Oregon Coast next weekend and want something to do? Join us for the Oregon Coast AGATE Clubs Gem & Mineral Show on June 14th & 15th! This show will also help give you an idea of what one can find on the Central Oregon coast.

Possibly a Blue Agate of the Oregon Coast

Post by Dee Dee Vega.

Sorry I have been out of touch...

Post by Agates Of The Oregon Coast.

Timothy DiGennaro's Black Agate found on the Oregon Coast

Photo by Timothy DiGennaro

Beautiful black agate found on the Oregon Coast by beachcomber Timothy DiGennaro. Notice how the center cavity is framed or outlined so nicely by a lovely fortification pattern or design. The exterior looks like an exquisite china pattern.  Nice find there Timothy, thank you for sharing this with the agate world.

A Rare Purple Agate found on the Central Oregon Coast

Purple agate is a rare find here on the coast.

Congratulations to our new resident beach comber Darrel who  last night shared his purple agate found here on the Oregon Coast at the Oregon Coast Agate Club meeting.

Beach Combing Treasures found on the Oregon Coast

Rewards from Monday 

Monday the Oregon Fossil Guy and I had a nice afternoon checking out the beach. Conditions were clear and we pretty much had the beaches to ourselves.  We had a rather successful day.

I hadn't been out there in some time to see these conditions exposing the tide pools out beyond the normal tide line.  I came home with a nice piece of bone, some petrified wood, beautiful fancy jasper, brecciated jasper and a few agates.  Much to our disappointment the blue appearing agate on the right is NOT a blue agate but just a cloud agate with a bluish rind.  Hopefully today's storm will remove the sand necessary to expose the gravel bars further up the beach.  Please be careful out there and don't try beach combing today with this storm lasting until 6:00 tonight. Today is definitely a good day to storm watch from the safety and comfort of your warm beach front hotel room.

Fossils, a Concretion, Petrified Wood etc. 

Nice Zeolite found recently on the Oregon Coast

Zeolite

Pat our very talented beach comber and agate calendar photographer hauled in this spectacular zeolite.   To learn a little more about zeolite minerals check out Karen's blog explaining the difference between Prehnite and Thomsonite. Pat also found a 1¼ lb. partial carnelian agate along with many smaller agates two days ago. I have only seen one more complete zeolite like this and that was a few years ago by Linda Davis of Lincoln City.  Nice collecting there folks.

Yachats 3rd Annual Agate Festival

We look forward to seeing all of you Saturday and Sunday, January 18 - 19 at the Yachats Commons.  K. Myers, author of the pocket guide Agates of the Oregon Coast will be doing identification of rocks found along the Pacific coastline.  Sunday, the Oregon Fossil Guy will join us for Fossil identification.

Back to back Agate events on the Central Oregon Coast

DiTorrice and Myers after Lincoln City event

Yesterday's Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau's  Agate and Fossil trip was moved indoors to the Lincoln City Cultural Center out of concern for the safety for all attending beachcombers.  This was a standing room only event and put on by two long time members of the Oregon Coast Agate Club, Guy DiTorrice known as the Oregon Fossil Guy, and K. Myers, author of Agates of the Oregon Coast a pocket guide.  

If you missed this event DiTorrice (Sunday only for fossil ID) and Myers will also be assisting with identification of local agates during the 3rd annual Agate Festival in Yachats, next Saturday and Sunday, January 18th and 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Yachats Commons. The event is free.

Featured speaker this year is William Orr, emeritus professor of geology at the University of Oregon and director of the Condon collection at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University. Orr will speak at the Commons Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. and his topic will be “How geologists use fossils.”