Exmouth fossils and fossil collecting
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Fossils from Exmouth are extremely rare, the Cliffs are unfossiliferious but fossils can be found from splitting pebbles from the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Bed. The Pebbles can contain Brachiopods and Bivalves. |
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Rare
Fossils at Exmouth are quite rare, You will be very lucky to find any, but if you do, it is likely to be brachiopods and bivalves. You will need to split the pebbles as the shells are inside.
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Older Children
This location is suitable for older children |
Good Access
Good access with a fantastic sandy beach, ideal for family trips. |
Beach Pebbles
There are cliffs at this location, but the fossils are found in pebbles which you will need to break apart. |
SSSI
This site is an SSSI, please do not hammer the cliffs and only collect from the pebbles on the beach. |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. It is very easy to become cut off since the tide often reaches the base of the cliff, especially in winter months. Please also keep away from the high unstable cliffs since they give very little warning when they fall. There is also some very active riffle ranges here, so be sure to obtain the firing times. |
Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
12/06/08
1989
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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You can find quartzite pebbles at this location, and these yield the fossils Lingula lesueuri and Orthis budleighensis.
In the Devonian rocks, fossils such as Cyrtospirifer verneuili and Homaloneotus sp. also occur.
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Triassic, 240mya |
Geology of the Exmouth area is part of the Dawlish Brecclias and Lower Sandstones. Sanidline fragments can be traced from the coast into the Credition Valley where they form the uppermost beds of a litho-facies succession. These beds form the basis of the Pebble bed.
The Pebble Beds consist of a false-bedded sequence which is 70 to 80ft thick. The Pebble Bed is made up of scattered sub-angular fragments of quartzite, grit and quartz intercalated with dark red and sometimes grey and buff sands....[more]
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Other Locations similar to Exmouth
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It is recommended to take a small hammer, occasional the fossiliferious red pebbles of Budleigh Salterton can be seen along the beach, these can be split and often contain very well preserved shells. Please note, fossils are very rare here. |
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Stone Tumblers |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which
will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.
You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed.
These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils. |
At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.
Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards. |
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Our International Rock
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