Lee Creek Mine (PCS / Aurora) — heritage entry
The most famous Miocene-Pliocene shark-tooth locality in the United States. Operated as a phosphate mine since the 1960s, Lee Creek produced the spectacular megalodon teeth that defined a generation of collectors. Public collecting ended in 2008. Today the Aurora Fossil Museum across the river is the legitimate way to engage with the deposit (already in our atlas).
Next 7 days
Plan a trip →Visit the Aurora Fossil Museum and its public spoil piles — the legal proxy for Lee Creek material.
The mine itself has been closed to public collecting since 2008. Spoil material from the active mine is donated to the Aurora Fossil Museum across the Pamlico River.
No collecting on PCS Phosphate / Nutrien mine property under any circumstances. Aurora Museum spoil piles are the legal alternative.
- N/A — included as historical context
- If you want Lee Creek material, hunt the Aurora Fossil Museum spoil piles
- Excellent specimens from the mine's open era are still in circulation among reputable dealers
- The mine's literature (Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology vols 53 & 90) is the gold reference
Shark teeth findable here
Trophy = headline find · Rare = real score · Uncommon = some trips · Common = most trips.
Also findable here
The beachcomber's bonus round — what else the geology gives up.
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