Shark Teeth Fossil Site

THIS SITE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
The following information is for historical reference only. Collection is illegal .

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• General Information
• Directions to Scotts Valley
• Directions to the Fossil Site
• Finding Shark Teeth
• Tools and Equipment Required
• Rules and Regulations
• Further Reading

This convenient fossil site is located near the top of a sandhill in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains range, just minutes away from highway 17 in the town of Scotts Valley of Santa Cruz County in Central California.

The hill is a geological outcrop named the "Santa Margarita Formation" that spans through the Late Miocene Epoch (10 to 12 million years ago).

Shark teeth of at least 20 species and several marine mammals fossils are abundant at approx. 70 feet from the base of the hill.

From San Jose take Highway 17 South for approx. 23 miles. You will go through the Santa Cruz Mountains and enjoy a beautiful scenery. Exit right at the Mount Harmon Road exit in the town of Scotts Valley.

From San Francisco you follow the above directions if you find your way to San Jose via Highway 101 South (approx. 45 miles). Also, you can take Highway 1 South and travel along the Pacific Coast until Santa Cruz, were you take 17 North. From Sacramento, reach San Jose via Highway 680. From Los Angeles, you can reach Scotts Valley via San Jose or via Santa Cruz through Highway 101 (or Interstate 5) and turning East on Highway 152.

At the Mount Harmon exit in Scotts Valley turn right. Go straight for 1.3 miles. You will cross Scotts Valley downtown. Turn right at Lockhart Gulch. Go for 0.2 miles and park at the side of a fence on your right hand side.

At your right you will see the Santa Margarita Formation. You must climb the hill for approx. 70 feet (blue trail).

At that level you will see several holes were people have been digging in. This is the place were the fossils are.

Once you are in the general area, you can create a new hole or dig further into an existing one. The best fossils are above a depth of around 5 feet.

You will find shark teeth at a rate of about one every 30 minutes. The most common shark species is the Isurus Hastalis (top row), an extinct ancestror of the Great White shark; and Isurus Planus (bottom row), one of the still existing Mackerel sharks. Less common are the teeth of the huge Charcarodon Megadolon (a 40+ feet long extinct shark!) and many other shark species.

More frequently, you will find fossil remains of the sharks' food; mainly fossil bone fragments and molars from marine mammals such as Sea Cows, Sea Lions and Whales.

For this fossil site you will need the following tools:

• 1/4 inch pitch wire screen with a 2 x 2 feet (min.) wooden frame
• Shovel
• Hand rake
• Hand shovel
• Finer pitch screen for small fossils (optional)

Rules and Regulations

The following publications are recommended for further reading:

• "Fossil Sharks and Rays of the Southern Santa Cruz Mountains, California", by F. Perry, Santa Cruz Museum Association, Santa Cruz City Museum of Natural History, 1994. (Follow museum link for availability information)
• "Sharks" - A. Cleave, Smithmark Publishers Inc., NY, 1994. A nice coffee table reference book with large photos of existing sharks. Great White and Mako shark images are from this book (Click on book title to link to Amazon.com)