Calvert Cliffs State Park is a public recreation area in Lusby,

Calvert County Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimo ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, that protects a portion of the cliffs that extend for 24 miles along the eastern flank of the Calvert Peninsula on the west side of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

from Chesapeake Beach southward to Drum Point. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

is known for the abundance of mainly

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

sub-epoch

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s that can be found on the shoreline.

Natural history

Geology

The park contains the type locality site of the Early to Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Calvert Formation The Calvert Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. It preserves fossils dating back to the early to middle Miocene, Miocene epoch of the Neogene Period (geology), period. It is one of the three ...

. These rocks are the

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

from a coastal ocean that covered the area during that time. The age of the formation is (19-)18–15(-14)

million years ago Million years ago, abbreviated as Mya, Myr (megayear) or Ma (megaannum), is a unit of time equal to (i.e. years), or approximately 31.6 teraseconds. Usage Myr is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used w ...

( Ma), i.e. it extends essentially over the

Hemingfordian The Hemingfordian on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 20,600,000 to 16,300,000 years BP. It is usually considered to overlap the lates ...

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

. This formation occurs in Maryland and neighboring

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The cliffs are between high and extend for along the coast. In addition, rocks of the younger Choptank and the St. Marys Formations are exposed here. This makes Calvert Cliffs State Park extremely interesting for its

paleoclimatology Paleoclimatology ( British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the scientific study of climates predating the invention of meteorological instruments, when no direct measurement data were available. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of ...

and

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

, because the accessible

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

provide a good record of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition and document a minor mass extinction event — the "

Middle Miocene disruption The Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (MMCT) was a relatively steady period of climatic cooling that occurred around the middle of the Miocene, roughly 14 million years ago (Ma), during the Langhian stage, and resulted in the growth of ice sheet ...

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

collecting and "

rockhound Amateur geology or rock collecting (also referred to as rockhounding in the United States and Canada) is the non-professional study and hobby of collecting rocks and minerals or fossil specimens from the natural environment.Sinkankas, John. Miner ...

ing" are permitted on the beach; the cliffs are closed due to the dangers of erosion.

Paleontology

The

is notable for its plentiful fossil

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

teeth. Especially popular among "rockhounds" are those from giants such as '' Carcharocles'' and the famous

megalodon ''Otodus megalodon'' ( ; meaning "big tooth"), Common name, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinction, extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Earl ...

(which is often included in ''Carcharocles''). The ancestral

baleen whale Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...

'' Eobalaenoptera harrisoni'' and the merganser ''Mergus miscellus'' were described from the Virginian part of the formation. From the uppermost layer, deposited 15–14 Ma, they represent the oldest known member of their

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

and

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, respectively. Some remains of a prehistoric

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

(''Gavia'') from the lowermost parts of the Calvert Formation, dating back nearly 18 Ma, are the oldest records of that genus from North America, and among the oldest worldwide. Fossils of the sword fish-like Eurhinodelphis longirostris have been found in zone 14 of the formation. Other notable baleen whales from this area include a '' Cephalotropis coronatus''. One was discovered by hobbyist paleontologist Jeffery DiMeglio in 2004 after cliff erosion caused by

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the east coast of the United States in September 2003. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed in the eastern Atlantic ...

exposed the skull and scapula. Mandibles, neck vertebrae, and scapulae were also found during the dig. The skull and vertebrae are on display at the Calvert Marine Museum. Other items found in the field jackets of the whale were fish bones, hundreds of mollusks, a '' Hexanchus gigas'' tooth, and two '' Carcharodon hastalis'' teeth.

Social history

On his 1612 map,

Captain John Smith John Smith ( – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, admiral of New England, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, and his friend Mózes Székely. Followin ...

identified the area as "Rickard's Cliffes," having given them his mother's family's name. Some 350 years later, the state park was developed with the General Assembly funding land purchases in each year from 1965 to 1968, then in 1969, dedicating money to the installation of the park's initial roads, parking area, and utilities.

Industrial neighbors

The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is located a short distance north of the park. The Dominion Cove Point liquid natural gas receiving station is visible off shore from the park beach.

Activities and amenities

Calvert Cliffs State Park is mostly forested, with some wetland areas and a small pond for fishing. The park has of marked hiking trails. A quarter-mile-long sandy beach is accessible via a trail. Some 550 acres are open to hunting upland game, turkey, and deer. The park is rich in biodiversity and is home to numerous species of plants and animals, with at least 163 species of birds observed in the park.

References

External links

Calvert Cliffs State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Calvert Cliffs State Park Map
Maryland Department of Natural Resources {{authority control Lusby, Maryland State parks of Maryland Parks in Calvert County, Maryland Miocene paleontological sites of North America Cenozoic paleontological sites of North America