Maryland Geological Survey

Maryland's Geologic Features

Rocky Point, Calvert County

contact: Dale Shelton (dshelton@mgs.md.gov)

MGS Home | Geologic Features Home Page | Pamphlet Home | Educational Materials |

Photo by James Reger, October, 1987.

This is Rocky Point in southern Calvert County, Maryland. The lower half of this exposure consists of fossil-bearing Miocene sediments.

• Section A is the Choptank Formation, rich in shells.
• Section B is the St. Mary's Formation, noted for fossil snail shells.
• The upper half of Rocky Point, section C, is composed of non-fossiliferous sands, probably of Pliocene age.
  

Rocky Point, 2 miles south of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power plant, is part of the famous Calvert Cliffs fossil beds which overlook the Chesapeake Bay.

For more information on Calvert Cliffs and fossil collecting, follow these links:

• Free Pamphlet: Calvert Cliffs, Maryland
• Free Pamphlet: Miocene Sharks Teeth of Calvert County
• FactSheet 10: Fossil Collecting Sites at Calvert Cliffs
• FactSheet 6: Maryland's Official State Fossil Shell-The Ecphora
• The FactSheet and Pamphlet series
• Educational Series 4: Collecting Fossils in Maryland
• The new Bulletin 20: Miocene Fossils of Maryland on CD-ROM
• Educational Resources for fossils