It’s a bit like finding the shell of an alien.
Embedded in rock about 15-20 million years old in Laguna Beach, scallop fossils rest scattershot at odd angles, as if suddenly frozen in an ancient tidal surge.
You can find them on the Laurel Canyon trail in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, past the healthy patches of poison oak and along a dry creek bed. It might be challenging to find them on your own but it’s worth trying. Here are some tips.
They are about a mile north from the Willow Staging Area across from the Anneliese School. Walk parallel to the 133 for roughly 15 minutes, and you’ll head into a canopy of oaks along a creek. (If you pass the 73, you’ve gone too far.) When the trail crosses a second dry creek, look to your left for a bank of rocks. Then look closer.
They look like seashells but officially are called pectinidae or scallops.
By themselves, maybe they don’t look like much but with some reflection and imagination, you might be able to conjure dinosaurs, sea creatures or perhaps a Marvel Multiverse character.
There have been legit findings in the area. Paleontologists discovered 10 million-year-old giant shark teeth when workers were clearing the roadbeds through the park. They also found the jaws of ancient whales. Sharks, whales, scallops, poison oak. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon. For more history of the area visit the OC Parks site.
