Jasper Arrowhead Found!

Another great find.,,3" Jasper Indian Arrowhead, artifact found on the Oregon Coast!

Beachcombers Paul and his wife found this Indian arrowhead over a year ago during a very windy day at the beach as Susan was trying to drag him home. He thought he saw an arrowhead and went back to retrieve it. The arrowhead features such an interesting pattern to the jasper color wise too. The photo shows the knapped detail on this piece as seen front and back in the photo very nicely.

Tomorrow we are anticipating quite a windy and rainy day for the coast, maybe that will remove some of that sand to expose the gravel beds. We are getting reports of agate being found to a limited extent daily now. No certain areas to report as it changes by the tide.

Nice Agatized Fossil Shells Found!

Susan of Florence did it again two weeks ago beachcombing on the Oregon coast. The discovery season uncovered a very bright and colorful, patterned, sard colored agatized bivalve (clam) bellie, the size of a quarter.

Her good eyes also brought Susan another incredible find...this beautiful icy clear agatized gastropod (sea snail). To see this piece in person the close-up details on this piece are incredible. When held to a bright light, it appears to be a light lavender color, with what appears to be finely cut crystal detailing within in the agate. Usually these snails appear to be white smooth cloudy agate. 2 more great finds Susan!

Trophy Sized Petrified Wood Found on the Oregon Coast

Just in yesterday: this trophy sized petrified wood was found by Dane, a north county resident earlier this year, here on the Central Oregon Coast. This is the biggest piece we have seen so far weighing in at just under 72¼ pounds, looks to be part of a very large limb or a part of the tree trunk. The color is actually blue grey measureing 11" x 12" and wet as you see it (as seen for scale over a large full size 22 ounce geologist pick for scale) it takes on a black with beige wood grain pattern running through it. It looks like it might be Spalted Myrtle an Oregon Myrtlewood.

This was found by lucky beachcomber Dane, a north county resident. It took him three hours to carry it home from the beach. What a determined guy he is.

Storms have started!

Have you read the latest Rock & Gem (October issue) magazine yet? They have a wonderful article on the Origin of Agate, written by Steve Voynick a mineral collector and former hardrock miner. For all of you that want to know more on the formation of agate this is an article you won't want to miss.

Here on the Oregon coast the rockhounds are all anxiously awaiting the scouring of the beaches for the agates and the fossils to reappear for all of our beachcombers to experience treasure hunting during the discovery season now through May.

Oregon Fall Beach Cleanup a Success!

Facing the threat of cloudy skies and rainy conditions on much of the coast, more than 3,700 beachcombers volunteered for the 25th anniversary of the SOLV Great Oregon Fall Beach Cleanup on Saturday. The entire Oregon coast, over 362 miles, was cleaned of debris that had accumulated since last spring. Volunteers removed an estimated 54,460 pounds of trash from Oregon’s beaches.

The SOLV Great Oregon Beach Cleanups occur twice a year when thousands of volunteers head to their favorite spots on the coast. Every beach is cleaned up of litter and marine debris, from the California border to the Columbia River.

Founded in 1969 by Oregon Governor Tom McCall to address litter and vandalism problems, SOLV’s mission has expanded to reach every county in the state and brings together government agencies, businesses and individuals in projects to enhance the livability of Oregon. Governor McCall also signed the 1967 Beach Bill into law, creating the Ocean Shore Recreation Area, managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for the benefit of all Oregonians.

Naturally the weather was picture perfect for sunday, monday & tuesday with a high of 90 degrees Monday here in Newport. September and October kicks off the lower rates at the coast and generally offers our guest to the coast better weather than June - Labor Day. Now we are all waiting for the great storm watching weather to start the beachcombing season for the agates to be exposed (removal of the sand by the storms to expose the gravel beds).

Oregon Shores Vacation

Thank you to local beachcombers Linda and Mike for sharing your photo with all of us that others too may see what our Oregon shores looked like a few weeks ago. This was not the norm for the summer time but an exception!

Today and for the weekend we are having more minus tides again. Maybe some of us will be lucky and find some treasure in the tide pools again. However we are all anxiously awaiting to see what the winter storms will uncover.

Not a Turtle Fossil found on the Oregon Coast

Updated from: Lori Tobias of The Oregonian Latest info on this is that it is NOT a turtle after all as it was thought to be in the story below!

William Orr, state paleontologist; Bill Hanshumaker, marine education specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center; and Guy DiTorrice, an avocational paleontologist, visited the site Tuesday the 15th together at low tide. They wanted to more closely study what local beach walker Carol Ritzert reported finding about a month ago. Ritzert had watched erosion reveal the rounded formation for about one year.

Scientists think this fossilized tortoise found along the beach in Lincoln County may be 20 million years old. The domed back of the stone, which measures roughly 30 inches long by 24 inches wide, suggests it was a land turtle.

"Oregon's Fossil Guy" Guy DiTorrice says the last time a discovery of this significance was made was in the 1970s, when Guy Pierson, also an avocational paleontologist, found a seal or sea lion of similar age near Newport. Parts of that fossil are at the University of Oregon museum and the Smithsonian.

"This is big," says Bill Hanshumaker, marine education specialist at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Time is of the essence to preserve this fossil in order to save it before it is lost by nature and erosion or destroyed by humans, DiTorrice and Hanshumaker hope to see it displayed at the Hatfield Marine Science Center at Newport.

Editors Note: by Lori Tobias, The Oregonian Saturday September 05, 8:05 PM and Tuesday September 15, 2009, 8:35 PM.