Phil Schmitz, a long time member of the MGS, passed away on December 29, 2022. In a notice to club members, President Rick Smith noted that "Phil was a very active MGS member for many years until health issues forced him to step away from many of his activities." An obituary can be found here.

MGS leadership is considering when and how the club will meet in the near future. When decisions are made, the membership will be notified via email and on this website.

(1) A wonderful profile of a young fossil hunter in a recent Washington Post article (link) includes a photograph of the nine-year-old with the huge Meg tooth she found in Calvert Cliff waters.

(2) Determining when angiosperms first appeared has been a vexing paleontological question. Darwin was troubled by their mid-Cretaceous appearance in "full flower" (so to speak) in the fossil record as it was known in the 19th century. Danish paleobotanist Else Marie Friis has traced their roots back into the early Cretaceous by painstakingly examining bits of charcoal under the microscope revealing tiny flowers. A recent New Yorker article (link) describes Friis' work and its importance.

These and other links to paleontological and geological articles on the web can be found at the MGS WebSightings page.

Pictured below is a selection of teeth from Hemipristis serra (snaggletooth shark) found at the northern end of the Calvert Cliffs south of Bayfront Park (also known as Brownie's Beach). These teeth are Miocene in age and were collected by MGS member Jim Stedman as "float" along the beach, the teeth having eroded out of the cliffs. The largest of these teeth is about 3 cm in length on the slant. At the present time, by resolution of the town of Chesapeake Beach, MD, only residents of the town are permitted to access Brownie's Beach.

To be announced

The featured mineral is anatase, known for elongated crystal faces. An article by Bob Farrar on this mineral appeared in the latest issue of the MGS newsletter.

The MGS Trips page has information on policies regarding trips and details about any upcoming trips. MGS trips are restricted to members. There are no trips currently scheduled.

The Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of the Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, edited by Stephen J. Godfrey, offers detailed descriptions and stunning pictures of vertebrate fossils from the Cliffs. A PDF copy of the book is available here.