Diving in the Sharks Tooth Capital of the World!

How did the boneyard come about? The Miocene, which began 20 million years ago, uplifting around Florida was brought on by tectonic activity that occurred well below the surface of the Earth. As Orange Island rose out of the ocean, its size gradually increased. Florida began to take on its current look throughout the Miocene, despite the fact that sea levels were constantly fluctuating. While the coastal regions were covered by a fairly shallow water at this time, terrestrial animals roamed central Florida. Heavy, nutrient-rich waters were formed by nutrient-rich deposits that washed up from the Appalachian mountain building event. When sea levels rose, these sediments slid to the bottom, burying land animals as well as dead marine creatures and innumerable shark teeth, including those of Megalodon sharks. Up to almost 5 million years ago, during the Early Pliocene, this pattern persisted. The Peace River Formation is one of the phosphate-rich formations that are currently formed by sediments. Rivers like the Peace River reveal this formation, which is primarily underground. This exposed structure is also located close to Venice, just off the beach. In the vicinity of Venice, fossils from this formation weather out and wash up on the shore. (FossilGuy.com)