Waves, Winds, and Tides: Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast of Southern England.
Presentation by: Andrew Young, with Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely.
For the last several years, a group of ESCONI members have traveled to England in winter to collect fossils on its famous Jurassic Coast. Contrary to the time of year when vacationers typically hit the beaches looking for calm water and sunny skies, these enthusiasts plan their adventures precisely when the weather promises to be most violent and the tides most dramatic. It is when the fragile cliffs along the shoreline are fast-eroding from surf action that the incredible geologic history of the place is in best view.
Low tide on Charmouth Beach with Golden Cap in the distance, the highest point on the southern coast of Great Britain.
Twice now, our intrepid explorers have delivered ESCONI club presentations on Lyme Regis and its surroundings. They have covered the town’s fascinating and centuries-old religious, economic, and industrial history, the accomplishments of its most famous citizen – paleontologist Mary Anning – as well as their own experiences combing the beaches for fossil treasures. Their excitement for these trips is truly contagious.
Newly found pyritized Echioceras sp. ammonite on Charmouth Beach.
This past February, I was invited to join the expedition and it proved to be even more remarkable than any photo can capture. Though familiar beaches and fossil shops were revisited, this trip expanded to new locations and introductions with locals whose addiction and knowledge about collecting in the area were most helpful to us. It was really an evolution of discovery: new techniques of searching, new species found, and new relationships with similarly passionate people, all of which build on previous visits.
Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Marie Angkuw at Seatown Beach.
On Saturday, October 19th, at the ESCONI Paleo Group Meeting, I will lead a slide show presentation about this recent collecting adventure. Marie Angkuw, Jann Bergsten, Rhonda Gates, and Deborah Lovely will be present to contribute their stories and perspectives as we discuss what we’ve learned about collecting at the edge of an ocean, what we found, and the richness of the landscape overall. We’ll also bring our specimens for show-and-tell. Please join us for an exciting evening of further exploring the Jurassic Coast of southern England.
- Andrew Young
A large, water-worn ammonite in matrix at Monmouth Beach, Lyme Regis.
