The Naughty Nautilus

Don and Sue Litchfield recently retired in Jacksonville Oregon and are excited to be a part of this Historic Community. Don collected his first fossil mammoth tooth 50 years ago in a rock pile on his family farm in North Dakota. Don has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geological Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and has been an avid mineral and fossil collector his whole life. Having traveled extensively as an Exploration Geologist, Emergency Response Contractor and Environmental Engineer, he finds Southern Oregon a beautiful place to live and share his fascination for collecting.

The Litchfield Family have been collecting Golden Barite and Pierre Shale Seaway Ammonites for over 40 years, and exclusively on Elk Creek, South Dakota for the past 25 years. Elk Creek cuts through the 73-million-year-old seabed exposing large concretions filled with extinct Ammonites such as Placenticeras, Baculites & Scaphites, Nautilus and the giant clam Inoceramus. The concretions on rare occasions are filled with bright Yellow Calcite crowned with gemmy Golden Barite crystal sprays. Both the Minerals and Fossils from this location fluoresce brightly under short wave UV light. Additional study and collection are underway of the marine molluscan fauna diversity to provide a foundation for further investigation of environmental settings, paleoclimates, paleogeography, concretion genesis, types of marine predators, molluscan species richness and related assemblages. The Elk Creek location is one of the top 50 important mineral and fossil localities in North America. We look forward to bringing you world class examples of these fine mineral and fossil specimens over the coming years.

You can find us online at https://TheNaughtyNautilus.com, or you can call and schedule an appointment to see our “Elk Creek Collection” private show room at (916) 633-3686.