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The Fossil Journal

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South Carolina Fossil Formations Explained

A plain-English guide to the South Carolina coastal-plain geologic column and the fossils each layer yields — the Oligocene Cooper Group (the Ashley and Chandler Bridge Formations, with early whales, dolphins, and Otodus angustidens shark teeth), the Miocene Hawthorn Group phosphates, and the Pliocene-to-Pleistocene Ice Age deposits that produced the Columbian mammoth. With verified, well-hedged ages and why the correct formation matters for dating and valuing a specimen.

Jun 29, 2026