Where to Find Shark Teeth in Maryland
Maryland has 5 mapped collecting spots that report shark teeth, spread across 2 counties. The largest share sits in Charles County with 3 spots. 5 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.
Map of 5 shark teeth collecting spots in Maryland
Standout shark teeth spots in Maryland
Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Calvert Cliffs State Park
Calvert County
The cliffs here expose the Miocene Calvert Formation, roughly 8 to 18 million years old, one of the richest marine fossil beds on the East Coast. Fossil shark teeth, including large Carcharocles megalodon teeth, along with ray plates, whale and dolphin bone, and the scallop Chesapecten, erode from the cliffs and gather on the beach. The Maryland Geological Survey lists Calvert Cliffs among the state's premier fossil-collecting shorelines.
Flag Ponds Nature Park
Calvert County
Flag Ponds Nature Park fronts the same Miocene Calvert Formation as nearby Calvert Cliffs, and its Chesapeake Bay beach gathers fossil shark teeth, ray plates, and shell fragments washed down from the cliffs to the north. The teeth here tend to be smaller and water-worn but are common and easy to find by sifting the surf line. Calvert County lists fossil hunting as a featured activity at the park.
Douglas Point
Charles County
Douglas Point is one of the few Bureau of Land Management recreation areas in the eastern United States, protecting about 1,270 acres of Potomac River shoreline jointly managed with the State of Maryland. Its beaches expose the same Paleocene Aquia Formation as nearby Purse State Park and yield fossil shark teeth and ray plates. The BLM's own visitor materials describe the shoreline as a fossil-bearing beach.
Mallows Bay Park
Charles County
Mallows Bay is best known for the Ghost Fleet, more than 100 scuttled World War I era wooden steamships now protected within a national marine sanctuary and visible just off the shore. The park fronts the same Paleocene Aquia Formation shoreline as nearby Purse State Park, so beachcombers turn up the same water-worn shark teeth, fossil fragments, and quartz pebbles along the Potomac. It is a free Charles County park that pairs a striking maritime landscape with easy shoreline hunting.
Purse State Park
Charles County
Purse State Park sits on the tidal Potomac where the Paleocene Aquia Formation, roughly 56 to 60 million years old, is exposed along the shore, making its teeth older than the Miocene material at Calvert Cliffs. It is one of the best public places on the East Coast to find Paleocene shark teeth such as Otodus obliquus, along with ray dental plates. The site is documented by the Maryland Geological Survey and long-running fossil guides as a reliable free collecting beach.
Best counties for shark teeth in Maryland
Ranked by the number of mapped shark teeth spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
Every shark teeth spot we track in Maryland
Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.
| Spot | County | Minerals | Coordinates | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calvert Cliffs State ParkJuliet Low Trail | Calvert County | 38.4070, -76.4120 | Public | |
| Flag Ponds Nature ParkFlag Ponds Parkway | Calvert County | 38.4415, -76.4550 | Public | |
| Douglas PointRiverside Road | Charles County | 38.4427, -77.2497 | Public | |
| Mallows Bay ParkWilson Landing Road | Charles County | 38.4690, -77.2636 | Public | |
| Purse State ParkRiverside Road | Charles County | 38.4303, -77.2528 | Public |
Shark Teeth in Maryland FAQ
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Hunt shark teeth in Maryland with the map in your pocket
RockHoundR puts these spots on an offline map with BLM and Forest Service overlays, geology layers, and a log for your finds.
