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Florida Peace River Fossil Hunting Areas
The Peace River near Arcadia, FL contains a wealth of marine and Ice Age land fossils. The marine fossils, which date from the Miocene period throught the Pliocene period, known as the Ice Ages, commonly found include shark, giant carcharodon (megalodon) shark, ray, pufferfish, barracuda, dolphin, dugong (manatee), whale, etc. Land fossils, primarily from the Ice Age as Florida was submerged until then, commonly found include horse, camel, glyptodont, alligator, bird, turtle, snake, deer, and mastodon.
Two reasons that both marine and land fossils are found in the Peace River are:
> this part of Florida experienced numerous cycles of being dry land versus being submerged under the sea
> the area currently has a river cutting and eroding down through sedimentary deposits which include those alternating layers marine and land fossils.
So, it's quite common to find marine fossils such as shark teeth in the same area as a land fossils such as horse teeth.
The geologic formation encountered there is the Hawthorn Group, Peace River Formation, Bone Valley Member which ranges in age from Miocene (23.0 to 5.33 million years ago) to Pliocene (5.33 to 1.81 million years ago).
BEST WEBSITE FOR PHOTOS & INFO ON FOSSIL HUNTING
Steve Wagner's Paleocurrents at: http://www.paleocurrents.com/docs/peace_river_fl.html
A GREAT SITE FOR INFOMATION ON
THE HISTORY OF EARTH'S LIFEFORMS AND GEOLOGIC TIME SCALES:
PALAEOS: The Trace of Life on Earth
http://www.palaeos.com/
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Some Things You Will Find
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| Megalodon - Carcharodon Tooth ................. (Largest Extinct Shark) ......................... (Photo: Steve Wagner, paleocurrents.com) |
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| Glyptodont Scute ............................................. (Back Shell Fragment) .............................. (Photo: Steve Wagner, paleocurrents.com) |
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| Extinct Horse Tooth ........................... (Photo: Steve Wagner, paleocurrents.com) |
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Some Tools You Will Need
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| Screen Sieve w/Floaters ......... (Photo: Steve Wagner, paleocurrents.com) |
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| Strong Shovel & Screen Digger ................................................... (Photo: Steve Wagner, paleocurrents.com) |
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| Large Bucket |
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Maps and Information for
Peace River Fossil Hunting Areas
Peace River, Zolfo Springs, FL
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Gardner,+FL&ie=UTF8&ll=27.493654,-81.808834&spn=0.060757,0.1157&t=h&z=13&om=0
Peace River, Gardner to Brownsville, FL
(State Park at Brownsville - camping)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Gardner,+FL&ie=UTF8&ll=27.332735,-81.816902&spn=0.122302,0.2314&t=h&z=12&om=0Peace River, Arcadia, FL
(Peace River Campground at junction of Rtes.70 & 72
Canoe rentals at Canoe Safari & Canoe Outpost)
http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?f=s&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=27.228608,-81.888227&spn=0.015226,0.028925&t=h&z=15&om=0
Try the interactive map below.
You can move the map from Fort Meade to Arcadia and zoom in and out.
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Canoeing on the Peace River with:
Canoe Outpost in Arcadia, Florida
Canoe Safari in Arcadia, Florida
3020 NW County Road 661, Arcadia, FL 34266
(863) 494-7865 http://www.canoesafari.com/
Camping on the Peace River with:
Arcadia Peace River Campground
2998 NW Highway 70
Arcadia, FL 34266
(863) 94-9693 www.peacerivercampground.com
Peace River Brownville Park
From Arcadia, take US 17 north approximately four miles to Brownville Street.
Take a left (west) and proceed 1.5 miles to entrance. (6 miles)
1885 NE Brownville St, Arcadia,FL 34266
(863)-491-5333 (camping)
(863) 494-1215, (800) 268-0083 (863) 494-4391 fax.
For the Government website with information, maps, and current river conditions, go to:
www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/westcentral/trails/peace_riv.htm
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| RECOMMENDED BOOK ON FLORIDA FOSSIL HUNTING: |
***** September 30, 2005
Very nicely presented book. Photos are very good. A great guidebook and reference for any collector's library.
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Florida's Unexpected Wildlife: Exotic Species, Living Fossils, and Mythical Beasts in the Sunshine State
Edition: Paperback
By MICHAEL NEWTON
Price: $21.00
15 new from $15.15 11 used from $4.43
***** Undated
An engaging and authoritative introduction to Florida's hidden animals, from rare visitors, to introduced species, to mysterious and cryptic 'maybe' creatures. A tour of the strange animals and weird cryptids to be found in one of the most popular vacation destinations in existence, Florida.
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Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men
Edition: Paperback
By Nick Redfern
Price:$18.95
25 new from $10.87 22 used from $3.42
***** Undated
Ufologist Redfern and two paranormally inclined pals, Jonathon Downes and Richard Freeman, go for a rollicking roadtrip "chasing monsters around the British countryside." Their explanation for what takes place is almost as bizarre as the beasts themselves in this lively and entertaining crypto-zoological road trip.
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