Shark tooth hunting is one of the most popular activities for vacationers and families in Myrtle Beach, and many people take to the internet and facebook groups in search of the local tips and spots for hunting!
Well your pal Retro is here with a collected knowledge of decades of shark tooth hunting on Myrtle Beach's shores as well as the advice regularly dished out by locals!
* High tide is the best time to hunt
The ocean pushes out it's treasures by way of the tides and there's no better time to search the beaches than high tides which are typically 11:30a and 11:30p which of course singles one out as the most convenient.
*Low traffic areas
This one is a no-brainer but if you are the 13th person to pass by a beach, your chances of finding a treasure are much lower.
*After a storm or heavy rains
When the seas are churning or strong rains inland occur, the fossils and teeth that are nestled in sediment are tussled free and will wash down to our beaches!
*Shiny and black
Look for shiny and black pieces as they stand out and with no true black shells in our waters, nearly anything you find will be a sharktooth or fossil!
*Other teeth and large shells
While it's no guarantee, as shells and fossil beds originate in different places generally, shells on the ocean floor and teeth and fossils inland in river beds washed to shore, if you find a large cache of shells in one spot it would do you well to sift through it as the ocean currents carrying large shells is a good indicator it carried other heavy and dense objects to the same location!
*Dig around
Just because you don't SEE a shell on the surface of a shell bed, doesn't mean they aren't there! Teeth and fossils are primarily silica and denser than a seashell. So they have a tendency to settle lower than shells on the beach. If you find a shell bed, dig a little bit and sifting is also a popular method!
*Have fun
Shell hunting isn't stamp collecting or model trains. It doesn't require so much attention and discipline. Just have fun with it and it is a hobby that will give you YEARS of entertaining beach days!
Location location location...
Another important factor is location! The currents of our Grand Strand generally carry teeth to between 10th ave s and 50th ave n on Ocean Boulevard. While other locations like the Myrtle Beach State Park and Huntington State Park are very popular with shark tooth hunters Myrtle Beach between 10th and 50th generally yield the most finds. Murrells Inlet also offers chartered boat trips to nearby locations popular for shark tooth hunting!
While you're searching for shark teeth, be on the look out for fossils too! There is a nearby fossil bed that feeds our beaches with amazing fossils from the Pleistocene era and others! Giant prehistoric mammalia and all kinds of sea life has left their bones and teeth for us to find hundreds of thousands and millions of years later! Don't just throw that black rock you found, give it another look, you MIGHT have found a fossil!
Now get out there and FIND THOSE TEETH!
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