S·edimentation and Tectonics in the 

Early Tertiary Continental Borderland 

Of Central California 

\ 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 925 

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Sedimentation· and Tectonics in the 

Early Tertiary Continental Borderland 

Of Central California 

By TOR H. NILSEN and SAMUEL H. CLARKE, Jr. 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 925 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1975 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

Library of Congress catalog- card No.7 6-7 6 2 4 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 
CONTENTS 

Abstract 

Introduction _______________________________________________ _ 

Acknowledgments _____________________________________ _ 

Summary of Mesozoic tectonic history------------------------

Lower Tertiary stratigraphic units -------------------------- ~orthwestern area _____________________________________ _ 

Page 

1 

1 

3 

3 

4 

6 

(}ualala area ---------------------------------------- 6 

Point Reyes --.-------------------------------------- 7 

Point San Pedro----------------------.-------------- 7 

Santa Cruz Mountains------------------------------ 7 

San Juan Bautista area ---------------------------- 11 

PointLobos ---------------------------------------- 11 ~orthern Santa Lucia Range------------------------ 11 

Adelaida area -------------------------------------- 12 

La Panza, southern Santa Lucia, and Sierra Madre 

Ranges ------------------------------------------ 12 

Pattiway Ridge area ---------------------------.,----- 12 

Mount Pinos area -----------------------------'----- 13 ~ortheastern area _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ 13 

Sierra ~evada ___ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ 13 

Franciscan assemblage in the northern Coast Ranges__ 14 

Round Valley area---------------------------------- 14 

Rice Valley area------------------------------------ 14 

Middle Mountain area ------------------------------ 15 

Clear Lake area ------------------------------------ 15 

Mount Diablo area and Sacramento Valley area ______ 15 

San Leandro Hills ---------------------------------- 17 

San Jose area-------------------------------------- 17 

Tesla area__________________________________________ 18 

Orestimba area -----------------------~------------ 19 

Laguna Seca area ---------------------------------- 19 

Bolado Park area ---------------------------------- 19 

Vallecitos area ------------------------------------ 20 

~orthern Temblor Range, southern Diablo Range, 

and adjacent San Joaquin Valley ------------------ 21 

San Emigdio and western Tehachapi Mountains 

and adjacent southern San Joaquin Valley ________ 22 

Southern Tehachapi Mountains ______________________ 23 

El Paso Mountains __________________________________ 24 

Page 

Lower Tertiary stratigraphic units-Continued 

Southeastern area -------------------------------------- 24 

Cadon Pass area ---~-------------------------------- 24 

Orocopia Mountains -------------------------------- 24 Southwestern'area ______________________________________ 24 

Ortega Hill, Pine Mountain, Santa Ynez Mountains, 

and Topatopa Mountains areas -------------------- 25 

Piru Creek area ------------------------------------ 29 

Las Lladas Canyon, Simi Hills, and Santa Susanna 

Mountains areas __________________________ --______ 29 

Santa Monica Mountains ____________________________ 30 

Elsmere Canyon and (}old Creek areas -------------- 30 

Elizabeth Lake Canyon .and Valyermo areas __________ 30 

Channel Islands------------------------------------ 30 

Santa Ana Mountains and San Joaquin Hills -------- 31 

San ~icolas Island __________________________________ 31 

Western Peninsular Ranges ---"'"-------------------- 32 

Lake Elsinore, Lake Henshaw, and Jaccumba 

Valley areas-------------------------------------- 32 ~orthern Bada California ____________________________ 33 

Early Tertiary history.of the San Andreas fault ---------.----- 33 

Early Tertiary paleogeography ------------------------------ 36 Introduction ____________________________________________ 36 

Source areas ------------------------------------------ 36 

Eastern nonmarine deposits ---------------------------- 39 

Shallow marine shelf deposits -------------------------- 40 

Continental slope and ocean floor deposits---------------- 42 

Introduction ________________________________________ 42 

Hemipelagic deposits ------------------------------ 42 

Deep-sea fans deposited east of the borderland and 

derived from eastern source areas __________________ 43 

Continental borderland deposits ------------------------ 45 

Deep-sea trench deposits -------------------------------- 46 

Sedimentology of the borderland deep-sea fans ________________ 47 

Tectonic framework of borderland sedimentation ______________ 48 

Summary and conclusions ---------------------------------- 52 

References cited _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ ___ _ ____ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ __ ___ _ ___ _ _ ___ 54 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. Index map of California showing mador geomorphic and tectonic provinces, mador faults, and informal geographic divisions___ 2 

2. Index map of California showing outcrops of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks----------------------------------------_ 4 

3. Index map of the western Transverse Ranges showing outcrops of lower Tertiary,sedimentary rocks--------------------_ 26 

4. Diagram showing inferred history of offset along the San Andreas fault in central California -------------------------~ _ 34 

5. Schematic maps showing Mesozoic and Cenozoic plate relations in the western Pacific Ocean -------------------------- _ 35 

6. Diagrammatic sketch showing the early Tertiary tectonic development of central California ____________ ----------------_ 37 

7. <1eneralized paleogeographic map of early Tertiary California--------------------------------------------------------_ 38 

8. <1eneralized map showing tectonic activity within the early Tertiary continental borderland of western California -------- 50 

III 
IV CONTENTS 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Lower Tertiary megainvertebrate and foraminiferal stages in California------------------------------------------------ 5 

2. Sedimentary structures and features reported from inferred deep-sea fan deposits of the early Tertiary continental borderland and adjacent areas of California__________________________________________________________________________ 8 

3. Comparison of thicknesses and depositional intervals of inferred deep-sea fan deposits of the early Tertiary continental 

borderland and adjacent areas of California ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 
SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS IN THE 

EARLY TERTIARY CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND 

OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA 

By ToR H. NILSEN and SAMUEL H. CLARKE, JR. 

ABSTRACT 

We infer that the most prominent early Tertiary paleogeographic 

features of central California were the Sierran landmass to the east 

and the Salinian island area or peninsula to the west, both underlain 

by granitic crust, and a trough-shaped deep marine basin which 

separated the two, underlain by oceanic crust. These elongate elements trended approximately north-south, parallel to the edge of the 

North American continent. Clastic sediment from erosion of the Sierran landmass was transported westward and deposited in adjacent 

fluvial, nearshore, shallow marine, and deep marine environments. 

The Salinian area was probably detached from the Sierran landmass 

by pre-Eocene right-lateral faulting along its eastern edge; it formed a 

continental borderland consisting either of irregular island uplands 

separated by deep marine basins or a very irregularly shaped peninsula. 

Detritus eroded from the borderland was deposited primarily as 

submarine fans at bathyal to abyssal depths within the borderland 

basins and on the sea floor to the east and west. These early Tertiary 

submarine fan deposits are similar throughout the central Coast 

Ranges and contain assemblages of proximal and distal turbidites, 

deep-sea conglomerates, grain-flow deposits, and hemipelagic shales. 

They differ from most modern deep-sea fan deposits and typical flysch 

sequences in that they are very thick but limited in areal extent, and 

consist mostly of coarse terrigenous detritus. The conglomerates 

commonly contain clasts as large as boulders, are very thickly and 

irregularly bedded, and are generally not laterally persistent. Sandstones deposited in more proximal parts of the fans consist primarily 

of conglomeratic Bouma ae channel deposits that are very thickly 

·bedded, amalgamated, poorly graded to ungraded, without prominent 

current-generated sedimentary structures, and containing large 

mudstone rip-up clasts, diffuse parallel laminae, and dish structures. 

Sandstones deposited in more distal parts of the fans generally contain more complete Bouma sequences, are more thinly bedded, have a 

greater variety of current-generated sedimentary structures, and are 

graded. Hemipelagic shales and thin Bouma cde sequences were deposited at and beyond the margins of the deep-sea fans and locally in 

the interchannel areas of the more proximal parts of the fans. 

The borderland region was tectonically active during sedimentation, so that island or peninsula source areas and depositional basins 

formed and changed abruptly. Submarine fan sedimentation was 

rapid, but the supply of sediment was probably not continuous for long 

periods of time. Paleocurrent directions are varied, reflecting the 

irregular distribution of source areas and depositional basins. 

INTRODUCTION 

The lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks that 

crop out in geographically restricted areas of the Coast 

and Transverse Ranges of western California have attracted the attention of many geologists during recent 

years (fig. 1). These rocks form sequences as much as 

25,000 ft (7 ,600 m) thick in some areas. The rocks consist primariiy of thickly bedded to massive, medium- to 

coarse-grained sandstone with subordinate amounts of 

conglomerate, siltstone, and mudstone. Ungraded 

sandstone beds as much as 75 ft (23 m) thick or more 

have been noted; other thick beds may be reversegraded in the lowermost part or normally graded in the 

uppermost part, with sandstone grading sharply upward into thin siltstone or mudstone layers. These 

sandstones typically lack internal structures except for 

large irregularly shaped mudstone clasts, diffuse parallel laminations, and dish structures, which were first 

recognized in these rocks by Wentworth (1967). 

The origin of these sandstone sequences has been the 

subject of considerable controversy, and in the past they 

have been interpreted as shallgw marine transgressive 

and regressive shelf deposits, deltaic deposits, a type of 

flysch, a type of turbidite, grain-flow deposits, and more 

recently, as deep-sea fan deposits. The few megafossils 

found in these rocks are generally individual abraded 

and broken mollusk shells that probably have been 

transported considerable distances. Microfossils are 

generally common in both interbedded mudstones and 

in thicker mudstone and shale sequences. These microfossils, particularly benthonic and planktonic 

foraminifers, permit reasonably reliable age assignments and provide some information about depths of 

water and access of the depositional site to the open 

ocean. 

The sandstones are generally good reservoirs for oil 

and gas and detailed subsurface data are locally available to permit definition of the areal extent and lateral 

facies changes in the units. Although most of the lower 

Tertiary sequences have been mapped in some detail, 

sedimentological and paleontological studies have been 

completed for very few. 

Detailed sedimentologic studies by other workers 

during the past 10 years have greatly clarified and 

facilitated our understanding of the depositional proc1 
2 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF .QALIFORNIA 

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FIGURE 1.-Index map of California showing major geomorphic and tectonic provinces, location of some major faults, and the four informal 

geographic divisions used in this paper (modified from Bailey, 1966). 

esses and sedimentary history of these lower Tertiary 

rocks. In particular, we depend heavily on studies by 

Stauffer (1965, 1967) in the Santa Ynez Mountains, 

Wentworth (1966, 1968) in the Gualala area, Yeats 

(1968), Cole (1970), Merschat (1971) and Parsley (1972) 

in the central Transverse Ranges, Channel Islands, and 

San Nicolas Island, Chipping (1970a, b, 1972a) in the 

southern Coast Ranges, and Link (1971, 1972) and Sage 

(1973, 197 4) in the southern Coast Ranges, Transverse 

Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges. By adding to their 

conclusions the results of our work in the Santa Cruz 

Mountains (Nilsen and Simoni, 1973), central Coast 

Ranges (Nilsen and others, 1974), and southern Coast 

Ranges (Clarke, 1973; Nilsen, 1973c; Nilsen and· 
SUMMARY OF MESOZOIC TECTONIC IDSTORY 3 

Clarke, 1973), we here synthesize the available data 

about the early Tertiary history of California. We emphasize the area extending from the Transverse Ranges 

on the south to the San Francisco Bay region on the 

north (fig. 1). 

Studies of these lower Tertiary rocks, because they 

are located at the western margin of the North American lithospheric plate, can provide valuable information about the early Tertiary history of the San Andreas 

fault and the interactions between the continental 

North American plate and oceanic plates to the west. Of 

particular interest is the inferred change in tectonic 

style at the plate boundaries at the western edge of 

North America, from subduction of the ocean floor in 

Mesozoic time to right-lateral slip along transcurrent 

faults in Cenozoic time. The purposes of this paper are 

(1) to describe these unusual deposits in some detail, (2) 

to present our interpretations of their depositional 

processes and environments, (3) to outline our conclusions concerning the early Tertiary paleogeography of 

western California, and ( 4) to summarize the relations 

between early Tertiary tectonic activity and sedimentation in the region. 

Before discussing the lower Tertiary sedimentary 

rocks in detail, we shall briefly summarize the Mesozoic 

tectonic history of California, because it influenced the 

framework of early Tertiary sedimentation and tectonics. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Work by Nilsen has been partly funded by a U.S. 

Geological Survey Post-Doctoral Research Associateship. Clarke's contribution is based partly on his doctoral research, conducted under the direction of Drs. F. 

A. F. Berry and C. M. Gilbert, and funded in part by 

grants from the Penrose Bequest Fund of the Geological 

Society of America, the Amoco Production Company, 

and the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley. We thank W. R. Dickinson, J. G. Vedder, 

T. W. Dibblee~ Jr., J. C. Crowell, D. G. Howell, and E. E. 

Brabb for helpful and thought-provoking reviews of the 

manuscript, and R. H. Campbell, D. L. Durham, R. F. 

Yerkes, G. W. Moore, and G. L. Peterson for helpful 

discussions. 

SUMMARY OF MESOZOIC TECTONIC HISTORY 

The three main rock units of Mesozoic age in central 

California are the Franciscan assemblage, the Great 

Valley sequence, and granitic and related intrusive 

rocks. Interpretations by others of the structural, 

stratigraphic, and chronologie relations between these 

units indicate the presence of a deep-sea trench and 

subduction zone along the Mesozoic continental margin. Within this framework, the Franciscan rocks are 

thought to have been underthrust eastward beneath the 

Great Valley sequence concurrently with the intrusion 

of granitic plutons in the Sierra Nevada (Bailey and 

others, 1964; Hamilton and Myers, 1966; Hsii, 1968; 

Bailey and Blake, 1969; Hamilton, 1969; Page, 1970b; 

Ernst, 1970; Bailey and others, 1970; Dickinson, 1971). 

Granitic intrusions of similar age are present in the 

Klamath Mountains, Salinian block, Mojave Desert, 

Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges (Evernden 

and Kistler, 1970; Ross, 1972). The faulted contact of 

the Great Valley sequence and the Franciscan assemblage has been designated the Coast Range thrust 

(Bailey and others, 1970), and includes the South Fork 

Mountain, Stony Creek, Tesla-Ortigalita, and SurNacimiento faults. The Coast Range thrust may represent a Mesozoic Benioff zone (Ernst, 1970). Bailey and 

Blake (1969) inferred that the Fr_anciscan and Great 

Valley rocks were deposited concurrently in essentially 

parallel but separated linear belts, both underlain by 

oceanic crust. The Great Valley sequence, and possibly 

the Franciscan assemblage, were derived from source 

areas to the east in the Sierra Nevada area (Ojakangas, 

1968). Deposition continued through the middle Cretaceous, followed by underthrusting and penecontemporaneous sedimentation until the latest Late Cretaceous. Dickinson (1971) interpreted the history as representing concurrent deposition of the Great Valley 

sequence in an arc-trench gap and deformation of the 

Franciscan rocks in an adjacent trench to the west. 

Beginning probably late in Cretaceous time, this inferred tectonic framework, which had previously been 

dominated by underthrusting of oceanic crust, apparently changed to one dominated by right-lateral faulting subparallel to the coast. The postulated offsets of 

Cretaceous rocks along the San Andreas fault suggest 

that as much as 350 miles (560 km) or more of rightlateral slip has accumulated along the fault since Cretaceous time (Dibblee, 1966b; Wentworth, 1968; Hill 

and Hobson, 1968; Ross and others, 1973). If this conclusion is correct, the Salinian block was sheared off the 

southern end of the Sierra Nevada and displaced 350 

miles (560 km) to the northwest, where it is presently 

bounded on both east and west by Franciscan rocks. The 

old Mesozoic subduction zone was thus split into two 

separate segments. At the beginning of Tertiary time 

the Salinian block was probably in motion and must 

have had a major effect on early Tertiary sedimentation. It was deformed so that basins formed locally 

within it and parts of it also became source areas for 

sediment. At about the same time, east-west tectonic 

trends began to develop in the area of the Transverse 

Ranges, and the Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, and 

other areas to the east were uplifted to form a mountainous terrain that served as a source area for sediment. Thus, earliest Tertiary sedimentation in central 
4 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA. 

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FIGURE 2.-Index map of California showing the distribution of outcrops of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks. 

California took place within· a general tectonic 

framework dominated by strike-slip faulting. An uplifted continental landmass lay to the east and a partly 

uplifted sliver of continental crust, the Salinian block, 

jutted out to the northwest from the otherwise regular 

continental margin, with a marine trough or marginal 

sea separating the two areas. 

LOWER TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS 

Lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks are irregularly 

distributed in California. Marine rocks are most widespread in the Coast Ranges, beneath younger sediments 

of the Great Valley, in the Transverse Ranges, and 

along the western flanks of the Peninsular Ranges (figs. 

1, 2). Nonmarine rocks are most abundant along the 

western flank of the Sierra Nevada, in subsurface along 

the east side of the Great Valley, and in scattered outcrops in the Great Basin, eastern Transverse Ranges, 

and along the western flanks of the Peninsular Ranges. 

Eocene rocks are missing from or only locally present in 
LOWER TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS 5 

TABLE 1.-Lower Tertiary megainvertebrate and foraminiferal stages in California 

[Mega invertebrate stages from Weaver and others (1944); benthonic foraminiferal stages from Kleinpell (1938> and Mallory (1959); planktonic foraminiferal, nannoplankton and coccolith 

age modifications from Bukry and Kennedy (1969), Schmidt (1970, 1971), Brabb, Bukry, and Pierce (1971), Steineck and Gibson (1971), Steineck, Jervey and Gibson (1972), and Gibson 

and Steincck (l972a, bl. The standard megainvertebrate and benthonic foraminiferal stages are used in this report) 

Pacific Coast provincial stages Tentative classifications 

Sub- Sub- based on planktonic System Series system· series Megainvertebnite Benthonic Foraminifera, coccoliths, 

marine fossils Foraminifera and nannoplankton 

Q) 

~~ 1:: 

Q) '"C ..... CJ Refugian Refugian Upper :9t! .~ Eocene ~~ 0 

s..Q) 

&~ o.CJ "Tejon" Narizian 

::::>~ Middle 

Eocene 

Q) Q)Q) "Transition" 1:: -~:: Ulatisian Q) CJ :g~ ~ 0 

:@~ 

~ j:;il "Domengine" 

~ 

:e Lower Q) s..Q) 

~ E-o Q)l:: Eocene "Capay" Penutian s.. ~Q) 

.s~ Q) 

~ 

.s Q) 

s.. 1:: 

&~ 0.~ "Meganos" Bulitian 

Q) ::::>~ 1:: Q) ~ CJ Upper 

~ Q) Paleocene s.. 1:: ~ Q)Q) 

~g "Martinez" Ynezian 

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00 

::::> 

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~ ~ C) 

C) 

the Klamath Mountains, Cascade Range, Modoc 

Plateau, Great Basin, Mojave Desert, and Salton 

Trough provinces (figs. 1, 2). 

Volcanic rocks are generally not present in the 

Paleocene and Eocene deposits, although scattered occurrences of tuffaceous sediments and bentonites attest 

to some volcanic activity. The Lovejoy Formation of 

Durrell (1959), a basaltic unit in the northern Sierra 

Nevada, is considered by Durrell (1959, 1966) to be of 

late Eocene age; however, Dalrymple (1964) suggested 

a younger age on the basis of radiometric age determinations. No lower Tertiary volcanic rocks have been 

mapped in the central or southern Sierra Nevada 

(Slemmons, 1966). Minor amounts of greenstone that 

may be early Tertiary in age are reported to be present 

in the !(coastal belt" sequence of the Franciscan assemblage (Bailey and others, 1964; O'Day and Kramer, 

1972). 

The lower Tertiary System of California has been 

divided into provincial stages on the basis of megainvertebrate and benthonic foraminiferal fossils (table 1). 

We shall refer in the text to the time-rock correlations of 

Kleinpell (1938), Weaver and others (1944), and Mallory (1959) in discussing the ages of various units, 

although recent studies of planktonic foraminifers, 

nannoplankton, and coccoliths have indicated that the 

older correlations are in need of revision; these tentative correlations are indicated in the right-hand column 

of table 1, but will not be referred to in the text. 

We have divided California into four areas for a gen-
6 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

eral review of the nature and distribution of the lower 

Tertiary stratigraphic units (fig. 1). The four areas, 

bounded by major faults, are distinctive early Tertiary 

paleogeographic provinces characterized by somewhat 

different styles of sedimentation and tectonic activity. 

The San Andreas fault is used as the major boundary 

between the areas partly because of the inferred large 

amount of post-early Tertiary right-lateral offset along 

it. The stratigraphic sequences within each area are 

described in ascending order and from north .to south. 

The sedimentary structures and bedding features, and 

the thickness and age of most of the units inferred to be 

deep-sea fan deposits are summarized in tables 2 and 3, 

respectively. 

NORTHWESTERN AREA 

The northwestern area, the Salinian block, extends 

approximately from Point Arena on the north to near 

the southern end of the Coast Ranges (fig. 1). Its eastern 

boundary is the San Andreas fault except in the San 

Francisco Bay region, where the Pilarcitos fault is the 

boundary. Its western boundary is formed genetically 

by the Sur-Nacimiento and southern Rinconada faults 

and the southern boundary arbitrarily is the Big Pine 

fault. The northern boundary of the Salinian block is in 

the Point Arena area, the northernmost offshore extent 

of granitic rocks (Silver and others, 1971). Thus, the 

Salinian block lies wholly within the Coast Ranges 

province and is underlain by a granitic basement 

complex. 1 

Within the Salinian block, the lower Tertiary rocks 

are distributed very unevenly as restricted outcrop 

areas with large intervening areas in which such rocks 

are missing. Thick sequences of lower Tertiary marine 

sedimentary rocks crop out in the Gualala area, the 

Santa Cruz Mountains, and in the southern Santa. 

Lucia, La Panza, and Sierra Madre Ranges (fig. 2). A 

sequence of moderate thickness crops out in the northeastern Santa Lucia Range. Isolated thinner sequences 

are present locally at Point Reyes, near San Juan 

Bautista, and at Point Lobos. The three thick sequences 

contain both Paleocene and Eocene units, while the thin 

sequences contain either Paleocene or Eocene units. 

Because the Salinian block and the Transverse Ranges 

to the south formed the early Tertiary continental borderland of central California, this area will receive 

primary emphasis in this paper. 

Lower Tertiary marine strata in the central and 

southern parts of the northwestern area are overlain 

conformably or unconformably by nonmarine strata of 

late Eocene, Oligocene, and early Miocene age. These 

nonmarine strata consist generally of coarse-grained 

1The lower Tertiary rocks of the Gualala area are a possible exception, as they rest on a 

spilite which may possibly be part of the Franciscan assemblage (Wentworth, 1966, 1968). 

Thus, this area may not be part of the Salinian block; however, for convenience this area is 

here considered part of the Salinian block. 

clastic rocks that were deposited in a variety of fluvial 

environments. They include the Zayante Sandstone of 

Oligocene and early Miocene (?) age in the southern 

Santa Cruz Mountains (Clark, 1966); the red beds of 

Kerr and Schenck (1925) in the San Juan Bautista area 

(Clark and Reitman, 1973); the Berry Formation of 

Oligocene (?) age in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains (Durham, 1974); the Tierra Redonda Formation of 

early and middle Miocene age in the Adelaida area 

(Durham, 1968, 1974); a variety of Oligocene and 

Miocene strata in the La Panza, southern Santa Lucia 

and Sierra Madre Ranges (Chipping, 1972a); th~ Simmler Formation of Oligocene(?) age in the Patti way 

Ridge area (Dibblee, 1973c; Bartow, 1974); and the 

Plush Ranch Formation of Carman (1964) of Oligocene 

(?) age on the south flank of Mount Pinos. 

GUALALA AREA 

Paleocene and Eocene marine sedimentary rocks of 

the German Rancho Formation of Wentworth (1968) 

crop out near Gualala in the northern Coast Ranges, 

where they rest conformably on similar Upper Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks and are overlain by a 

basalt thought to be of Miocene age (Weaver, 1944; 

Wentworth, 1966, 1968). The lower Tertiary sequence is 

at least 10,000 ft (3,000 m), and possibly as much as 

20,000 ft (6,000 m) thick. Sparse ((Martinez" megafossils are present 2,400 ft (730 m) above the base, and 

ucapay" or ((Domengine" megafossils are present in the 

upper part of the formation, although the top of the 

sequence may be as young as late Eocene. The German 

Rancho Formation consists mostly of medium- and 

coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate sequences 

that are irregularly distributed and difficult to correlate or subdivide into members; subordinate amounts of 

rhythmically interbedded fine- to medium-grained 

sandstone and mudstone are also present, as well as 

some unusual red mudstone. . 

Conglomerate clasts in the German Rancho Formation are composed of granite, amphibolite, biotite schist, 

gneiss, quartzite, marble, and intermediate and felsic 

porphyritic volcanic rocks. The arkosic sandstone was 

described by Wentworth (1968) as being rich in potassium feldspar; however, Nilsen, Dibblee, and Simoni 

(197 4) found that 15 sandstone samples from the southern part of the outcrop area were 18-37 percent quartz, 

12-38 percent potassium feldspar, 33-58 percent 

plagioclase feldspar, and 1-7 percent lithic fragments. 

Paleocurrent directions indicate sediment transport 

toward the northwest from source areas presumably 

located within the Salinian block. Wentworth (1966, 

1968) inferred deposition by turbidity currents in a 

northwest-trending basin at water depths of one to several thousand feet (30~1,000 m), with an active fault 

scarp along the western margin of the basin. 
NORTHWESTERN AREA 7 

POINT REYES 

The Laird Sandstone is exposed in three separate 

fault blocks at Point Reyes (Weaver, 1949, p. 65; Galloway, 1962, 1966), where it unconformably overlies 

quartz diorite and is overlain unconformably by 

Pliocene strata. Its maximum thickness is about 100ft 

(30 m). It consists of massive, coarse-grained sandstone 

and subordinate amounts of conglomerate, with some 

shale in the upper part. It is thought to be Ynezian in 

age on the basis of sparse Foraminifera (Galloway, 

1961). Conglomerate clasts as much as 2 ft (60 em) in 

diameter are composed primarily of quartz diorite from 

the underlying basement complex. Scant data are 

available regarding paleocurrent directions, sedimentary structures, and inferred depositional environments 

of the Laird Sandstone; in addition, its original areal 

extent is difficult to estimate. 

Eocene shales have been penetrated by wells drilled 

for oil about 17 miles (27 km) east-southeast of Point 

Reyes (John West, written commun., July 1973), but 

their thickness and relation to other lower Tertiary 

stratigraphic units are not known. 

POINT SAN PEDRO 

Paleocene marine conglomerate, sandstone, and 

shale about 1,300 ft (400 m) thick crop out on the San 

Francisco Peninsula southeast of Point San Pedro (Darrow, 1963). These strata rest unconformably on a 

flyschlike Upper Cretaceous sequence and are overlain 

by Quaternary alluvium. Dickerson (1914) concluded 

that the Tertiary rocks were Paleocene, and Clark 

(1968) indicated their age as Ynezian(?). The lower Tertiary strata consist of alternating thinly bedded sandstone and shale and locally abundant thickly bedded 

sandstone and conglomerate (Chipping, 1972b). The 

sandstones are arkosic and contain more potassium 

feldspar than plagioclase feldspar; lithic fragments are 

composed of volcanic, quartzitic, and argillaceous material. Chipping (1972b) inferred that the thinly interbedded sandstone and shale were deposited by turbidity 

currents and that the thickly bedded sands-tones and 

conglomerates were deposited by high-density turbidity 

currents, grain flows and slurries. He inferred that 

these sediments were derived from a source area to the 

southeast, probably in the area of the present northern 

Santa Cruz Mountains, and were deposited on the upper 

portion of a submarine fan. 

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks of the 

Santa Cruz Mountains are a widely distributed sequence of strata as much as 10,000 ft (3,000 m) or more in 

thickness. The sequence is subdivided into three parts. 

(1) The Ynezian Locatelli Formation ofBrabb (1960)~ 

which is 900 ft (270 m) thick. It rests unconformably on 

granitic basement rocks and is informally divided into 

two members, a lower sandstone and siltstone member 

100ft (30m) thick that contains shallow marine mollusks, and an upper siltstone member 800 ft (240 m) 

thick that contains arenaceous foraminifers. It was deposited in progressively deeper marine conditions, the 

lower part at neritic depths and the upper part at 

bathyal to abyssal depths, in a basin with unrestricted 

access to the open ocean (Cummings and others, 1962; 

Clark, 1968). It contains granitic and metamorphic detritus derived from source areas similar to the underlying basement rocks and well-rounded volcanic clasts 

that were probably recycled from older conglomerates 

(Cummings and others, 1962). 

(2) The Butano Sandstone, which is at least 5,000 and 

possibly as much as 10,000 ft (1,500-3,000 m) thick, of 

Penutian to N arizian age. It rests unconformably on the 

Locatelli Formation and is informally divided by Clark 

(1966, 1968) into three members, (a) a lower conglomerate and sandstone no less than 1,500 ft ( 460 m) thick of 

Penutian age, (b) a middle siltstone 250-750 ft (75--230 

m) thick of Penutian age, and (c) and upper sandstone 

more than 3,200 ft (980 m) thick ofPenutian, Ulatisian, 

and N arizian age. The conglomerate contains clasts of 

granite, gneiss, schist, quartzite, and volcanic rocks; the 

sandstone is arkosic, with 35--60 percent quartz, 20-37 

percent potassium feldspar, 5--17 percent plagioclase 

feldspar, and lesser amounts of biotite and lithic fragments (Brabb, 1960). Beveridge (1958) identified a large 

suite of heavy minerals including apatite, clinozoisite, 

epidote, garnet, ilmenite, leucoxene-anatase, magnetite, rutile, sphene, and tourmaline. The Butano Sandstone was deposited at bathyal and abyssal depths in a 

basin that had unrestricted access to the open ocean 

(Sullivan, 1962; Cummings and others, 1962; Clark, 

1966; Fairchild and others, 1969; Smith, 1971). 

Paleocurrent and paleoslope patterns and the areal distribution of conglomerate clasts indicate northwarddirected sediment transport; deposition is inferred to 

have bee~ by turbidity currents, grain flows, fluidized 

sediment flows, slumping and the slow settling out of 

pelagic detritus (Nilsen, 1970, 1971; Nilsen and Simoni, 

1973). Nilsen (1971) inferred that the Butano was 

deposited as a deep-sea fan and was derived from a 

source area to the south, within the Salinian block, 

underlain by granitic and metamorphic basement rocks 

and older conglomerates (Brabb, 1960; Cummings and 

others, 1962; Nilsen and Simoni, 1973; Nelson and 

Nilsen, 1974). 

(3) The San Lorenzo Formation, which is 1,720-3,000 

ft (525--900 m) thick, ofNarizian, Refugian, and Zemorrian age. It rests conformably on the Butano Sandstone 

and was divided by Brabb (1964) into two members: the 
TABLE 2.-Sedimentary structures and features reported from inferred deep-sea fan deposits of the early Tertiary continental borderland and adjacent areas of California 

(x = reported in literature; R = rare; C = common] 

<1> 

"'C § {! <1> rJ1 or, 

~ <1> bD !l tl "'til<l> ~ ~ ~ ' ~ s... ] .5 en ., bl:JJ:l .S t..... ·- -~ ~ c:: -r.. ; 

e 6b :s .... I!J "2~ ~ .s ~ ~ {! ~ ~ ~ "'til ~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ .£ § ~ .0 bD ~ s : §" ~ ~ ~ g ~ :E {! ~ <1> {! ~ ..., s .s ~ -;: ~ ~ gs ~ "' -~ .:-: ~ Area (~ee figs. 1 and 2), <1> ~ ~ 1l ~ .5 .5 "' ~ .§ § 6.. ] ·;;; l:l .S 1;1] ~ 1l ] 1l S § ~ ~ ~ 3 ,£ tl ·s 3 ;; ~ ~ : ..§ formatiOn; source of data "'til 8 ·;; <1> "C a! ""g ~ 3 CJ tl"i: (ij § ~ {! t>D ~ bD <1> ] ..., <1> !l ..., t: <1> "'til §: ;;:; CJ "C ~ !:! ~ "' :.0 :.0 0 ;:: ~ 

~ ] :g a ~ 6b ~ ~ .§ ] ~ ! :g &" 5 :B 'o :B § 8 .;g § !l ~ i ~ a.§ ~ t1 ·;::: ·;::: 2 a 13 3 E] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ § ~ .2l s.~ <ii ~ 5l ~ tl -~ s .s Q) .s ~ » ~ ~ ~ {! ~"' .z" {! ~ Q) CJ ~ ~"'til 1 ~ i:l ~ : s ~ .g ~.8 .s ~ -e ~ c 

~ ~~ ~ ~ § ~ !2 ~ ~ ~ ~.§ -~ ~ i] i ~ ~] ~ m ~ ~ ] 1 -~~ ] b ~ ~ .§ ~ ~ § § s ] ] -~ ~ ~ u ~ ~ z ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ u u < 00 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 00 u ~ ~ ~ u 00 00 00 ~ ~ ~ 

Northwestern area (Salinian block) 

Gualala area, German Rancho Formation of 

Wentworth (1966, 1968) X X X X X X X X X X X R X X X X X X X X X X X X X R X X __ __ X X R 

Point San Pedro, unnamed Paleocene unit; 

Chipping (1972b) X X X X X X X X X X X __ X X X __ _ ___ X __ -- X ____ X R X __ -- X -- R R 

Santa Cruz Mountains, Butano Sandstone; 

Nilsen and Simoni (1973) X X X X X __ X X X X X __ X X X X X X X __ X X X -- X R X X __ X X C R 

Point Lobos, Carmelo Formation of Bowen 

(1965a); Nili-Esfahani (1965), and this X X X X __ X __ -- X X X X X X X __ X X X __ -- X X -- X X X X -- -- X R R 

paper 

Northern Santa Lucia Range, The Rocks 

Sandstone of Thorup (1941); Dickinson X -- X -- X -- -- -- X X -- -- X __ X X X X X -- -- X X -- -- -- -- X -- -- -- -- --

(1965), Link (1975), and this paper 

La Panza; southern Santa Lucia and Sierra 

Madre Ranges, undifferentiated lower x x x x x x x __ x x x x x x x x __ R R __ R x x __ __ R x x ______ R R 

Tertiary units; Chipping (1970a) 

Pattiway Ridge area, Pattiway Formation; Sage (1973) x x x x __ x __ __ __ x x __ x __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ x __ __ __ __ __ __ _ _____ x R 

Northeastern area 

Mount Diablo area, Markley Sandstone Member of Kreyenhagen Formation; this paper __ __ __ x x __ __ __ x x x __ x x x x __ x x __ __ x x __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ x __ 

San Jose area, Paleocene(?) sandstone; Esser 

(1958), Mack (1959), Burtner (1959), and X __ X X X -- -- -- X X X __ X X X X X X X -- __ X X __ __ __ X X -- -- -- X R 

this paper 

San Jose area, Paleocene and Eocene sandstone; Beaulieu (1970) X __ X X __ __ __ -- X X __ X X X X __ -- X X -- __ __ X __ __ __ X -- X -- -- X --

Bolado Park area, Tres Pinos Sandstone of 

Kerr and Schenck (1925); this paper X __ X X X __ X X X X X __ X X X ~ X X X __ X X X X X __ X X ____ X -- __ 

Vallecitos area, Cantua Sandstone Member 

ofLodoFormation;Nilsenandothers(1974) X __ X X X X X X X X X __ X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X __ X X R 

Northern Temblor Range, Point of Rocks 

Sandstone; Clarke (1973) X X X X X __ X X X X X __ X X X X X X X X X X ____ X __ X X -- -- X X R 

00 

t;3 

~ 

~ r:n 

t%j 

tj 

~ t%j 

z 

g 

0 

z 

> z 

tj 

t-3 

t%j 

0 

t-3 

0 

z 

0 

sn 

0 

0 

~ 

~ 

~ 

~ 

to 

0 

~ t%j 

~ 

~ 0 

'"%j 

0 

~ 

-'"%j 

0 

~ 

> 
TABLE 2.-Sedimentary structures and features reported from inferred deep-sea fan deposits of the early Tertiary continental borderland and adjacent areas of California-Con. 

(x = reported in literature; R = rare; C = common] 

"' c (/) (/) T; "' '"0 

~ ...,-o "' "' !::!> (/) 

COl~ c !::!> c c e '"0 c (/) "0 0 c 0 "' COl c rn :::: 

-~~ :.;; btl E So :.c (/) -o<Z c "' 'o ·z -~s ·3 i3 COl 2 -g ~ c c-u ~ c "0 

"' "' ~ ~ c c COlo. (/) '-0 c ~ COl E 0 :::: E (/) "' ::::+-> 

~~ COl "'"' E "' ~E oo.S "' -sD ::::~ ..0 btl btl :::: "'"' c "' c o"' Ul'"O COl ;: "' c ~~ "' ·c.. ~ Area (see figs. 1 and 2), I~ c "'"' "2 c . ::00 "' c • ]";; u 0 u"O "' COlO> E "' ~ ... £1n .E :;;:; "' ~ 

;; "' 8 ~-E" c "'c :;::..o "0 ..o..o "' 0: 

~ "' COl .E formation; source of data 0 >..0 "0 -o-g ... "' "' ,(Z "' "' ... a. - -och 0: +-'(/) ;; ;; c ~ "' d u ·w" ~ ~ E.§ :::: '"0 btl<ll btl"' +-'0) ;: ~§ ~~ Q. ~ - ~] 0 0: 

~ COl ~§ -~ "' "' ~ "0 "'C 6'n ? a~ -~ "00) 0:+-> CJ' :::: C<.... c:C (/) "' :.. "' "' "' ·z :.. 

E~ :::: c "' :.=.S E 5 E "' "' j~ "' :::: Q.<Z "' E ·- 0 ..... "' u ~·z .a ~ E ~ :l c c _g ·;::: > -g .,o ~ E.B ~-= "'"' "'"' ~rn COl 0: "' ;: 0 "''"' ~ ~ ,ZUl c; COl COl ..c"' "' u "' :..... ~ o.E .E c -~en ·"0 ~~ ~ ;;., c"' c-o ...,-o u 

-sD "' "' ~ 3 ;;., ... ~~ E :!5 c c --o oc > "' "0 COlO> e ::::- '-CC ...>:c E coo "0 0 ~ c ~2 a. -~ ~ c:: ·-co: E c "0 "0 0: 

~2 ~ ~.§ o:O: o:<Z dO) 0 ~ :l c c ..o- ~~ i3 :::: ~-rn :::: ..0 E..o d 2 2 ~;:: 5 Q. "Ou c ::::8 c c 0 0 ~u Gi cs w 0 "' ..c..O ..c'fl E"' .3 ~ E u ~ ~ "''" 0 0: 0: iii 0 

u ..:: E-< z 0 0::: ....J ell c.. u u < r:n 0 c.. r:n u :E u Ui r:n r:n c.. ~ 

Southwestern area z 

0 

~ Santa Ynez Mountains, Juncal Formation; 

Stauffer (1965) X X X X X X X X X R X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ~ Santa Ynez Mountains, lower part ofMatilija tzj 

00 

Sandstone; Stauffer (1965), and Link (1972) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X R ~ 

tzj 

Santa Ynez Mountains, Sacate Formation; ~ O'Brien (1972) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X -- X X X -- -- -- X -- -- -- X X s; Santa Cruz Island; Merschat (1968) X X X -- X -- X X X X -- X -- X X X X X X -- tzj 

Santa Rosa Island, South Point Formation of > 

Weaver and Doerner (1969) -- -- X X X X X -- -- -- X X -- -- -- R 

San Miguel Island, Pozo and Caiiada Formations; Parsley (1972) and Sage (1973) lx X X X X -- X X X X X X X X -- X X X X X X X X R 

San Nicolas Island, unnamed unit; Cole 

(1970)· lx X X X X -- X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X R 

Elizabeth Lake Canyon and Valyermo areas, 

San Francisquito Formation; Sage (1973) IX X X X X X -- X -- X -- X X -- X -- X X X 

Number of occurrences ------------ 118 12 20 18 16 9 13 6 18 1916 6 19 15 18 13 14 18 18 6 8 19 15 7 9 10 15 15 4 3 11 18 15 

c.o 
~ 

~ 0 

r;; 

·-> 

l 

;:f 

~-:;, 

?~ '{ ~ -~ 

~ 

{ 00 

0 

c:: 

g' 

::::: 

iii· 

:;, 

Provincial foraminiferal stages 

.. ~:g __ o 8~.8 

3~C! 

-~ 

~ 

d' 

:;, 

~ 

§' 

c: 

[ 

r;;· 

;;;· 

:;, 

1 

~ 

~i~ o~.o 

ocr 

.....:;-< 

~ 

~-;;;· 

:;, 

. l

J 

Gualala area 

German Rancho Formation of Wentworth (1968,) 

Point San Pedro 

Unnamed unit z 

0 ~----------------------------------~ ~ 

Santa Cruz Mountains 

Butano Sandstone Vl 

~ ~--------------------------------~~ 

Point Lobos 

Carmelo Formation of Bowen (l965a) 

::c 

z 

> 

~------------~------------------------------~~ 

·~ 

I ;: 0 ~ -~ J Northern Santa Lucia Range ~ f ~ ·· The Rocks Sandstone of Thorup (1941) t ~~----------------------~--------~------------------------~~ 

1. ,? ~. Southern Santa Lucia and La Panza Ranges ~ T ~ { Unnamed units S 

I .::5 ~ ~ Sierra Madre Range fS 

I 

T 

.i 

~ 

1 

·-> 

~ 

w 00 

~g 

c:: .• 

'"......:."'N 

00 

c::c:: 

~ 

-~ 

I 

5 

-f>W 

-..,.-..,. 

oo 

C?~ 

. .., 00 ·..,) . 

I ~ ~ S Unnamed umts 

Pattiway Ridge area 

Pattiway Formation 

T-:-< . I ~ ( Mount Dtablo area 

-~ Markley Sandstone Member 

San Jose area, Siindstone between Pilarcitos 

and San Andreas faults z ~--------------------------------~0 

~ .-f> ."" ~ San Jose area, sandstones of Beaulieu (1970), ~ ·-> 8 ;:;! ·-> Carter (1970), Bennett (1972), Mclaughlin ~ 

~ c::~ ~ (1973) ~ 

i I Bolado Park area ~ . :, ;g ·-> Tres Pinos Sandstone of Kerr and Schenck Z 

1 c:: J (1928) ~ 

.~_, Vallecitos area, Cantua San~stone Member of 

1 

~ I Lodo Formation 

I b~ I 

T ~~ T 

I 

l ~ I ~ 0 ~ 

I ~ I 

Northern Temblor Range 

Point of Rocks Sandstone 

Santa Ynez Mountains 

Juncal Formation 

Santa Ynez Mountains 

Matilija Sandstone 

G Santa Ynez Mountains 

"f~"j Sacate Formation of Kelley (1943) 

LJ ~ l:l Sj ·-> ~ ·-> Santa Cruz Island ~ 

______Lj ~-------..,.--------------------------i § -~ Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands ~ I ~ ~ I South Point Formation of Weaver and Doerner (1969) ~ 

r-------------------------------,L--------~ > N 

~ ·-> 

~ 

0\.f> \Do 

00 

00 

. ,· 

;..., 

~ 

.i 

I 

San Miguel Island T Pozo and Canada Formations 

.l 

I 

w 

':!:. 

~ 1 

I 

Elizabeth Lake Canyon and Valyermo areas 

San Francisquito Formation 

San Nicolas Island 

South Point Formation of Weaver and Doerner (1969) 

~ ~~ 

ff~ [h 

0' 0 

i~ m a. 0 0 ... ;:s 

(!) 

~~ .... i'l ;::to 

~§: 

~ ~ "' 

:::~ en en 0. (I) 

o. en 

s- ~ 

:p ·~ 

~-~ i'l 0 -· en !. :::;: 

g- s· 

a 5 5 ..... ~- s· 0'~ 

~ ~ s· ~ ;.; c jil"""i-, 

• ... CJ,i 

i~ "'' rn .., 

'Sia. 

f!l. s R. c: ~ (I) 

·!5;--9 

0 s· en ... ~ (I) § == ~ ~0~ 

~ ~ ;:s 

s· ~ !} 

!a"''ti 

~ &. 0 

(!) == ~ . § ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~ [ 0 s. ::I tO (I) -CJl tO (I) 

':-" ~ 

~~ 

§ ~ § ;:t 0' s· s ~ g. ~ 

iD§ 

8 .... ::I .... .... ;:s "' (I) 

-~ ;:s 

I~ 8 o- :::1 0 

0',~ 

3 "'' g. ..... -(!) ;:s ~ 

8 R. 

a ~ 

~~ 

~~ 5 

.... (I) ~ 

~ ~ e. ~ 

8 ~ a ~ "' en ~ 0 

~~ ::I ~ 

~.§; .. ~ 

;:s 

s· 

VINHO.ill'lV::l .i~O QNV'1H:3:QHOH '1V.LN3NI.LNO::l 'S8INO.L8:3:.L QNV NOI.LV.LN:3:WIQ:3:S Xmri.LH:3:.1 01 
NORTHWESTERN AREA 11 

Twobar Shale Member, 650--790 ft (200--240 m) thick, of 

Narizian age, and the overlying Rices Mudstone 

Member, 1,030--1,700 ft (310--520 m) thick, ofRefugian 

and Zemorrian age (Brabb, 1960, 1964; Cummings and 

others, 1962; Clark, 1966, 1968; Smith, 1971). The 

Twobar Shale Member is a hemipelagic shale deposited 

at lower bathyal or abyssal depths in a basin with unrestricted access to the open ocean. The Rices Mudstone 

Member was deposited at bathyal to neritic depths in a 

basin with restricted access to the ocean (Brabb, 1964). 

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA AREA 

Strata of Eocene to Miocene age crop out south and 

east of San Juan Bautista; they rest unconformably on 

mafic crystalline basement rocks to the north and are in 

fault contact with granitic basement rocks to the south 

(Allen, 1946; Ross, 1970, 1972; Clark and Reitman, 

1973).The lower unit of this sequence, the San Juan 

Bautista Formation of Kerr and Schenck (1925), is of 

Penutian or Ulatisian to Zemorrian age. The lower part 

of this formation consists of foraminiferal siltstone 600 

ft (180m) thick that was deposited at bathyal depths. It 

is overlain by fine-grained sandstone and siltstone 

1,200 ft (370 m) thick that contains molluscan and 

foraminiferal fossils indicative of deposition in shallow 

marine conditions (Castro, 1967). The foraminiferal 

faunas near the base of the sequence indicate a Penutian or Ulatisian age and those 1,250 ft (390m) above 

the base indicate a Refugian age (Castro, 1967; Waters, 

1968; Clark and Reitman, 1973). 

POINT LOBOS 

A sequence of marine conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and shale of the Paleocene Carmelo Formation of 

Bowen (1965a) crops out in a small area broken by 

numerous faults near Point Lobos at the northwest end 

of the Santa Lucia Range. The sequence is probably as 

muc,h as 800 ft (240 m) thick, although the thickest 

continuous section measures only 725 ft (220 m) 

(Bowen, 1965a, b). The sequence rests unconformably 

on porphyritic biotite granodiorite; the upper contact is 

not exposed. Scattered mollusks, foraminifers and plant 

remains indicate a Paleocene age. The conglomerate 

clasts are composed primarily of andesite, rhyolite, 

granodiorite, chert, and quartz; the sandstones are 

feldspathic. Paleocurrents are variable but suggest a 

source area to the east (Nili-Esfahani, 1965). NiliEsfahani (1965) and Bowen (1965a) suggested that 

deposition was by turbidity currents, subaqueous sliding and slumping, and traction currents on a submarine 

fan. NORTHERN SANTA LUCIA RANGE 

least 7 50 ft (230 m) thick resting unconformably on 

granitic and metamorphic basement rocks with the 

upper contact eroded; (2) the Junipero Sandstone of 

Thorup (1941), 0--150 ft (0--45 m) thick ofPenutian age, 

also resting unconformably on basementrocks; (3) the 

Ulatisian Lucia Mudstone ofDickinson (1965), 0--250 ft 

(0--75 m) thick, resting either conformably on the 

Junipero Sandstone or unconformably on basement 

rocks; (4) The Rocks Sandstone of Thorup (1941), 

400--800 ft (120--240 m) thick of Ulatisian and N arizian 

age, resting either conformably on the Lucia Mudstone 

or unconformably on basement rocks; and (5) the 

Church Creek Formation, 1,250--1,500 ft (390--450 m) 

thick of Refugian age, consisting of conglomerate, 

sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone that rest conformably on The Rocks Sandstone (Herold, 1936; Wardle, 

1957; Masters, 1962; Waters, 1963; Dickinson, 1965; 

Kleinpell and others, 1967; Brabb and others, 1971). 

In the Reliz Canyon area farther to the southeast, the 

conformable lower Tertiary sequence has been divided 

by Durham (1963, 1964, 1965, 1974) into (1) the Reliz 

Canyon Formation (Eocene), which he subdivided into 

three unnamed members: (a) conglomerate and sandstone (the Junipero Sandstone of Thorup, 1941), 180ft 

(55 m) thick, probably Penutian and resting unconformably on basement rocks; (b) massive siltstone with 

thin sandstone beds near the top (the Lucia Shale of 

Thorup, 1941), 150--350 ft (45--110 m) thick and 

Ulatisian; and (c) thickly bedded sandstone (The Rocks 

Sandstone of Thorup, 1941), 1,450 ft (440 m) thick and 

probably N arizian; and (2) the Berry Formation, nonmarine conglomerate and sandstone 65~1,100 ft 

(200--340 m) thick, probably Refugian and Zemorrian 

and possibly disconformably overlying the upper sandstone member of the Reliz Canyon Formation (Thorup, 

1941, 1943; Durham, 1963, 1974). 

The Paleocene rocks in the Church Creek area grade 

upward from thickly bedded feldspathic sandstone and 

conglomerate containing primarily plutonic clasts to 

thinly interbedded sandstone and mudstone (Dickinson, 1965). The massive and cross-stratified Junipero 

Sandstone includes conglomerate lenses and some bioclastic limestone; its sandstones-arkosic arenites containing more potassi urn feldspar than plagioclase 

feldspar-are inferred to be shallow marine deposits 

(Dickinson, 1965). The Lucia Mudstone, which contains 

abundant pelagic foraminifers, was probably deposited 

in quiet waters having unrestricted access to the open 

ocean. Dickinson (1965) interpreted the Junipero-Lucia 

sequence as representing a marine transgression from 

east to west. 

Lower Tertiary strata in the Church Creek area of the The Rocks Sandstone consists of massive sandstone 

northern Santa Lucia Range consist of (1) Paleocene beds from 2 to 15ft (0.6-4.6 m) thick that are separated 

conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone at by thin mudstone layers; it increases in grain size and 
12 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

bedding thickness toward the southeast (Link, 1975). 

Compositionally it is arkosic arenite, with three to five 

times as much potassi urn feldspar as plagioclase 

feldspar and conglomerate clasts composed of granite, 

quartzite, volcanic rocks, amphibolite, schist, and 

gneiss (Dickinson, 1965). Although some sandstones 

near the base of The Rocks Sandstone have been interpreted by Dickinson (1965) as shallow marine deposits, 

the unit has many sedimentary features ip. common 

with inferred deep-sea fan deposits of the Salinian block 

(table 2). Link (1975) concluded that it had been deposited as a submarine-fan complex by turbidity currents, 

fluidized sediment flows, and grain flows that transported sediments northwestward into a moderately 

deep basin. Nannoplankton from the overlying Church 

Creek Formation suggest deposition at outer-shelf or 

slope depths (Brabb and others', 1971); sandstones in 

The Rocks are arkosic arenites with four to six times as 

much potassium feldspar as plagioclase feldspar (Dickinson, 1965). Eastward, The Rocks Sandstone may 

grade laterally into nonmarine conglomerate of the 

Berry Formation (Dickinson, 1965). 

ADELAIDA AREA 

Taliaferro (1944, p. 513) assigned Paleocene sedimentary rocks in two small areas north of Adelaida to the 

Dip Creek Formation; he concluded that the 

1,320-ft-thick (400 m) sequence rests unconformably on 

similar Upper Cretaceous rocks and is overlain unconformably by Oligocene or Miocene nonmarine sedimentary rocks. Durham (1968, 1974) includes these strata 

in an unnamed formation of Late Cretaceous and 

Paleocene age, does not recognize any unconformities 

within the sequence, and concludes that they are overlain unconformably by Oligocene or Miocene nonmarine sedimentary rocks. The Paleocene part of the 

sequence consists primarily of sandstone with some 

conglomerate, siltstone, and mudstone. Molluscan 

faunas of ~~Martinez" age indicate that deposition 

occurred in a shallow, inner neritic marine environment; 

however, foraminiferal faunas indicate deposition in 

outer neritic or deeper environments (Durham, 1974). · 

LA PANZA, SOUTHERN SANTA LUCIA, AND SIERRA MADRE 

RANGES 

A continuous Upper Cretaceous to Ulatisian (?) sequence of strata about 20,000 ft (6,000 m) thick crops 

out in the southern Santa Lucia and La Panza Ranges. 

The sequence has been informally divided in ascending 

order into conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and sandstone units. It rests unconformably on granitic basement rocks and is overlain unconformably by 

Miocene(?) sedimentary rocks. Thick sequences of 

Penutian to Narizian strata crop out in the Sierra 

Madre Range to the south, a dominantly sandstone and 

conglomerate sequence about 16,000 ft (4,900 m) thick 

in the northern part, and a dominantly shale and sandstone sequence more than 20,000 ft (6,000 ·m) thick in 

the southern part. The base of these sequences is not 

exposed; they are overlain unconformably by Oligocene 

and Miocene strata (Hill and others, 1958; Gower and 

others, 1966; Vedder and others, 1967; Vedder, 1968; 

Vedder and Brown, 1968). Stratigraphic units have not 

been formally named, ages are only approximately 

known, and correlations between the three ranges have 

not been well established to date. Sage (1973) classified 

Paleocene sandstone in the northern La Panza Range as 

arkose, with more potassium feldspar than plagioclase 

feldspar; he also identified conglomerate clasts composed of granite, rhyolite, andesite, gneiss, quartzite, 

and quartz. 

Chipping (1969, 1970a, b, 1972a) inferred that these 

rocks were deposited in a single large basin which he 

called the Sierra Madre basin. He determined 

southward-directed paleocurrents in the lowest part of 

the sequence in the southern Santa Lucia and La Panza 

Ranges, northward-directed paleocurrents in the uppermost part of the sequence in the Sierra Madre 

Range, and westward- and northwestward-directed 

paleocurrents in the other parts of the sequence in each 

range. He inferred that source areas were located to the 

north, east, and south, and that the basin shoaled eastward. Deposition was inferred to have been by turbidity 

currents, grain flows, and gravity slumping and sliding 

on a submarine fan. The basin was deepest during the 

Penutian and Ulatisian Stages. Sage (1973) also determined southward-directed paleocurrents from Paleocene strata in the northernmost lower Tertiary outcrops 

in the La Panza Range. Both he and Chipping (1972a) 

concluded that these rocks were deposited in very nearshore or nonmarine environments, probably at the 

northern edge of the Sierra Madre basin. Chipping 

further concluded that during most of its depositional 

history the Sierra Madre basin was separated from the 

Santa Ynez basin to the south except during Ulatisian 

time, when they were connected by a seaway in the east. 

PA TTIW A Y RIDGE AREA 

Lower Tertiary rocks crop out in the southeastern 

Caliente Range and along Pattiway Ridge about five 

miles (8 km) to the southeast. Paleocene molluscan and 

Ynezian foraminiferal faunas have been reported from 

the Patti way Formation in the Caliente Range (Hill and 

others, 1958; Vedder and Repenning, 1965; Vedder, 

1970a). Although the age of the rocks along Patti way 

Ridge is uncertain, they have been lithologically correlated with the Pattiway Formation by Sierveld (1957) 

and Van Amringe (1957). Basal contacts are not exposed in either area; both sequences are overlain unconformably by nonmarine sedimentary rocks of probable . 
NORTHEASTERN AREA 13 

Oligocene age. The Caliente Range deposits consist of 

interbedded conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and 

shale as much as 3,500 ft (1,100 m) thick; the Pattiway 

Ridge deposits consist of800 ft (240m) of fine-grained to 

pebbly sandstone with subordinate amounts of shale 

and siltstone (Sage, 1973). The sandstone in both areas 

is arkosic in composition, containing more potassium 

feldspar than plagioclase feldspar, with minor amounts 

of biotite and lithic fragments that include granitic, 

metamorphic, volcanic, and quartzitic rocks; the conglomerate clasts include granite, rhyolite, andesite, 

gneiss, quartzite, and quartz (Sage, 1973). On the basis 

of paleocurrent measure~ents and sedimentological 

analyses, Sage (1973) inferred that (1) the Caliente 

Range sequence was derived from a source area underlain by volcanic, granitic, and gneissic rock located to 

the north-northwest, and was deposited as a relatively 

shallow submarine fan built out to the south-southwest· 

(2) the Pattiway Ridge sequence was derived from ~ source area underlain by granitic and metamorphic 

rocks to the north, and was deposited as proximal 

turbidites in a south- or southeast-trending basin. 

MOUNT PINOS AREA 

Unnamed Eocene strata about 2,200 ft (670 m) thick 

crop out in a narrow fault wedge along the south flank of 

Mount Pinos and locally rest unconformably on granitic 

basement rocks (Carman, 1964). The strata consist 

primarily of shale but include limestone, siltstone, 

mudstone, thinly bedded arkosic sandstone, and pebble 

conglomerate containing granite, chert, mudstone, siltstone, and silty limestone clasts. The sandstone is about 

70 percent quartz, 25 percent feldspar (mostly plagioclase and microcline, but with orthoclase and perthite 

common), and minor amounts of chlorite, mica, and 

lithic fragments. Rare molluscan fossils suggest a 

((Capay" age. Carman (1964) inferred, in the absence of 

graded bedding and slump structures, that deposition 

occurred in shallow marine, nearshore environments, 

but did not indicate the location or orientation of the 

shoreline. 

NORTHEASTERN AREA 

A great variety of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks 

crop out in this area (figs. 1 and 2). Nonmarine deposits 

are present in the western foothills of the Sierra 

Nevada, in subsurface beneath the eastern Great Valley, and in the Tehachapi and El Paso Mountains along 

the southern edge of the area. Marine deposits are present in the western foothills and southwestern edge:. of 

the Sierra Nevada, in subsurface beneath the Gr~at 

Valley, and in the northern and southern Coast Rang~s. 

Recent studies in the western part of the northern Coiast 

Ranges indicate that the !(coastal belt" Franciscan 

rocks, previously thought to be of Mesozoic age, contain 

fossils diagnostic of an early Tertiary age (Berkland and 

others, 1972, p. 2295). 

SIERRA NEVADA 

Plant fossils from the prevolcanic auriferous gravels 

ofthe northwestern Sierra Nevada indicate Eocene and 

Oligocene ages; the gravels are inferred to have been 

deposited by large westward- and southwestwardflowing streams; (Lindgren, 1911; MacGinitie, 1941; 

Bateman and Wahrhaftig, 1966; Wolfe and others, 

1961; Dalrymple, 1964; Durrell, 1966; Peterson and 

others, 1968; Clark, 1970; Yeend, 197 4). The gravels are 

generally less than 50ft (15m) thick except along the 

ancestral Yuba River, where they are 500-600 ft 

(150-180 m) thick. They typically consist of (1) ((blue 

gravels" in the bottoms of channels which contain clasts 

of adjacent bedrock types and small amounts of granitic 

clasts; and (2) overlying !(white gravels," which are 

mainly quartz, chert, and quartzite clasts. The gravel 

clasts are generally of pebble and cobble size. Sands 

associated with the !(blue gravels" are arkosic and con-· 

tain biotite, hornblende, and epidote; sands associated 

with the !(white gravels" contained quartz, anauxite, 

and biotite, a mineral assemblage commonly attributed 

to deep chemical weathering in a tropical climate. The 

uppermost sandstones contain fresh feldspar and biotite 

indicative of less intense chemical weathering. 

Other lower Tertiary nonmarine and marine 

sedimentary rocks in the westernmost foothills of the 

Sierra Nevada include (1) the Dry Craek Formation of 

Allen (1929), which rests unconformably on Cretaceous 

sedimentary rocks in a small area near Oroville; it is as 

much as 80ft (24m) thick, contains a HMeganos" age 

megafauna, and consists of interbedded shale and sandstone with abundant feldspar, hornblende, and biotite; 

and (2) the lone Formation, which is more widespread 

and possibly as much as 1,000 ft (300m) thick locally; it 

rests unconformably on crystalline basement rocks 

with as much as 1,000 ft (300m) oflocal relief or without 

. angular discordance on the Dry Creek Formation 

(Allen, 1929; Creely, 1965; Bateman and Wahrhaftig, 

1966; Durrell, 1966). The lone Formation has been divided informally into (1) a lower member which typically rests on a deeply weathered lateritic surface and 

includes (a) sandstone as much as 415ft (125m) thick 

and composed of quartz, anauxite, biotite, hornblende, 

heavy minerals, and little or no feldspar, (b) clay beds 

composed mostly of kaolinite and halloysite, and (c) 

lignite beds as much as 24 ft (7.3 m) thick; and (2) an 

upper member consisting primarily offeldspathic sandstone containing biotite, chlorite, and kaolinite, characterized by cross-strata, gravel lenses, and abundant 

channels. The upper member rests unconformably on 

the lower. Locally abundant megafossils indicate a 

!(Capay" age and shallow marine and nonmarine depos-
14 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

ition, including deltaic, lagoonal, and fluviatile environments. The unusual composition of the lower 

member suggests deep chemical weathering in a tropical climate. 

Allen (1929) proved that sediments of the lone Formation and the nonmarine prevolcanic gravels were 

transported and deposited by the same streams, and 

that the Eocene shoreline lay between the two units. 

According to Hackel (1966, p. 227), the late Eocene lone 

Formation grades laterally northward into the nonmarine Butte Gravel Member of the Sutter Formation, 

which overlies granitic rocks along the northeastern 

edge of the Great Valley. A possible nonmarine partial 

equivalent ofthe lone in the southeastern Great Valley 

is the Walker Formation, which is poorly dated but may 

contain strata as old as Paleocene or Eocene in its lower 

part and early Miocene in its upper part. It is thought to 

have been deposited by westward-flowing streams and 

may be partly equivalent to the prevolcanic gravels of 

the northern Sierra Nevada (Hackel, 1966). 

FRANCISCAN ASSEMBLAGE IN THE 

NORTHERN COAST RANGES 

Although the Franciscan assemblage has traditionally been considered to be of Mesozoic age, probably 

Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous (Irwin, 1957; Bailey 

and others, 1964), recently discovered fossils in the 

northern Coast Ranges indicate that much or most of 

the ((coastal belt," or westernmost sequence of Franciscan rocks (Bailey and Irwin, 1959), is early Tertiary 

(Berkland and others, 1972; O'Day and Kramer, 1972). 

These ((coastal belt" rocks consist mostly of interbedded 

flysch-like sandstone and shale; the sandstones are 

feldspathic graywackes with more -potassium feldspar 

(4.5 percent average) than other Franciscan rocks and 

very little chert, greenstone, serpentine, or highpressure metamorphic rocks (Bailey and others, 1964; 

Raymond and Christensen, 1971; O'Day, 1974). 

The Hco.astal belt" sequence contains zones with disturbed and broken bedding (melanges) and also pebbly 

mudstone (Kleist, 197 4); it contains large exotic blocks 

of sandstone, limestone and volcanic rocks, but almost 

no blocks of the high pressure-low temperature metamorphic rocks characteristic of older Franciscan strata. 

· Sedimentary features of the ((coastal belt" rocks indicate deposition by turbidity currents, debris flows and 

grain flows; the chaotically bedded zones probably indicate submarine slumping and gravity sliding (Chipping, 1971; Kleist, 1974). The ((coastal belt" rocks probably are a complex comprising deep-sea fans deposited 

on the floor of an elongate offshore trench, and gravityslide and debris-flow materials deposited on the lower 

slopes of the trench. 

In addition to the lower Tertiary ((coastal belt" sequence, lower Tertiary strata are also preserved on 

some outliers of Great Valley sequence rocks that are 

thought to have been thrust westward over the Franciscan assemblage along an active subduction zone; these 

relations suggest that subduction along the offshore 

trench in which the ((coastal belt" rocks were probably 

deposited continued into the early Tertiary in the 

northern Coast Ranges (Berkland, 1969, 1971, 1972, 

1973). There is little evidence in the early Tertiary 

stratigraphic record of central and southern California, 

however, for continued subduction; rocks of the Franciscan assemblage and the Catalina Schist in these 

areas seem to be restricted in age entirely to the 

Mesozoic (Page, 1970b). 

ROUND VALLEY AREA 

A sequence of lower Tertiary strata up to 2,000 ft 

(600 m) thick disconformably overlies Cretaceous rocks 

in a large klippe that rests on Franciscan rocks southwest of Covelo in Round Valley. The klippe, like others 

in the Middle Mountain, Rice Valley, and Clear Lake 

areas, is inferred to be part of a thrust sheet detached 

from the main outcrop belt of Mesozoic and lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks along the west side of the Sacramento Valley and thrust westward, without 

significant rotation, over the Franciscan assemblage 

(Swe and Dickinson, 1970). Clarke (1940) divided this 

sequence into (1) the Martinez Formation, fine-grained 

sandstone about 130ft (40 m) thick containing biotite, 

muscovite, chert, shale chips, and carbonaceous material, that locally has asymmetrical ripple marks; (2) the 

Meganos Formation, carbonaceous sandstone about 300 

ft (90 m) thick that locally contains conglomerate composed of shale, quartz, and dacite or rhyolite clasts; and 

(3) the Capay Formation, dark shale and fine sandstone 

about 1,500 ft (450 m) thick with fragments of chert, 

slater shale, and volcanic rocks and a heavy mineral 

assemblage consisting principally of epidote, garnet, 

ilmenite-leucoxene, titanite, magnetite, tourmaline, 

and clinozoisite-zoisite. The contacts between these 

units are apparently conformable although poorly exposed. Clarke (1940) noted shallow marine molluscan 

faunas of Paleocene age in the Martinez and Meganos 

Formations and of ((Capay" age in the Capay Formation. 

RICE VALLEY AREA 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks more than 

1,150 ft (350 m) thick unconformably overlie Cretaceous marine sedimentary strata in a small, synclinally 

folded klippe of Great Valley sequence rocks that rest on 

Franciscan rocks near Rice Valley (Berkland, 1971, 

1973). The lower Tertiary sequence consists of(l) unfossiliferous, cross-stratified sandstone 200 ft (60 m) thick, 

(2) unfossiliferous pebble conglomerate 150 ft ( 45 m) 

thick that is more than 60 percent clasts of Franciscan 

rock types, (3) unfossiliferous quartz grit 150ft (45 m) 
NORTHEASTERN AREA 15 

thick with minor coal seams, (4) calcareous sandstone 

150ft (45 m) thick containing a ((Meganos" molluscan 

fauna indicative of deposition in shallow marine conditions, and (5) glauconitic sandstone and greenish siltstone 500ft (150m) thick that contains a sparse molluscan fauna questionably assigned to the ((Capay" stage. 

The entire sequence is overlain unconformably by 

Quaternary sediments. The abundant Franciscan detritus in the second unit indicates rapid, local uplift of 

. Franciscan blueschists in the early Tertiary (Berkland, 

1973). 

MIDDLE MOUNTAIN AREA 

Lower Paleocene sandstones are reported to conformably overlie the Great Valley sequence in a klippe that 

rests on Franciscan rocks near Middle Mountain (Berkland, 1969, 1972). However, detailed stratigraphic data 

have not been published to date. 

CLEAR LAKE AREA 

A conformable sequence of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks about 5,500 ft (1,700 m) thick is faulted 

against (but may locally be in depositional contact with) 

the Great Valley sequence in a large imbricated klippe 

near Clear Lake (Swe and Dickinson, 1970). The lower 

Tertiary sequence is overlain by Quaternary volcanic 

and sedimentary rocks. Brice (1953) divided the lower 

Tertiary sequence into (1) the Paleocene Martinez Formation, 2,200-4,200 ft (670-1,300 m) thick, subdivided 

into (a) a lower fine- to medium-grained, thickly bedded, 

massive arkosic wacke unit 1,400 ft (430 m) thick containing moderate amounts of chert and a heavy mineral 

assemblage of tourmaline, zircon, epidote, hypersthene, 

garnet, rutile, brookite, clinozoisite, and staurolite; (b) 

a middle feldspathic sandstone 700ft (210m) thick with 

thick lenses of pebble and cobble conglomerate composed of rounded clasts of dark chert, quartzite, and 

fine-grained porphyritic igneous rocks; (c) an upper 

fossiliferous well-bedded, silty shale 2,150 ft (660 m) 

thick containing some interbedded sandstone in the 

lower part and inferred to have been deposited in warm, 

quiet, shallow marine conditions; and (2) the Eocene 

Tejon Formation, about 1,000 ft (300m) thick, consisting of locally fossiliferous medium-grained arkosic to 

lithic wacke containing a heavy mineral assemblage 

similar to the underlying Martinez Formation, and beds 

and lenses of granule and cobble conglomerate of dark 

chert, quartz, and volcanic rock clasts. The Tejon is 

inferred to have been deposited in shallow marine to 

continental conditions. Clark and Vokes (1936) assigned the youngest strata, mistakenly referred to the 

Tejon Formation by Brice (1953), to the HMeganos" 

stage on the basis of molluscan fauna. 

MOUNT DIABLO AREA AND SACRAMENTO VALLEY AREA 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks more than 

9,000 ft (2,750 m) thick crop out in the Mount Diablo 

area where they have been mapped as the Martinez 

Formation, Meganos Formation, Capay Formation, 

Domengine Sandstone, Nortonville Shale Member of 

the Kreyenhagen Formation, and the Markley Formation. This sequence unconformably overlies Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and is unconformably overlain by Oligocene and Miocene sedimentary rocks (Colburn, 1961; 1964). Major unconformities within thesequence are present at the base of the Domengine Sandstone on the north flank of Mount Diablo (Colburn, 

1961) and at the base of the Capay Formation farther 

north in the Sacramento Valley (Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1960; Lachenbruch, 1962; Safonov, 1962). A related lower Tertiary 

sequence in the Pacheco syncline area to the west has 

been described by Weaver (1953) and Smith (1957). 

The Ynezian Martinez Formation is 900-1,000 ft 

(270-300 m) thick on the north flank of Mount Diablo 

but absent on the south flank. The lower half is poorly 

bedded, medium- to coarse-grained, locally pebbly 

sandstone with a thin fossiliferous basal conglomerate 

of limestone pebbles and cobbles apparently derived 

from the underlying Cretaceous rocks. The upper half is 

massive mudstone and siltstone (Colburn, 1961; Berry, 

1964). 

The Bulitian Meganos Formation is more than 4,000 

ft (1,200 m) thick on the north flank of Mount Diablo 

(Mallory, 1959; Colburn, 1961; Berry, 1964). The base is 

marked by a 20- to 50-ft-thick (6-15 m) conglomerate 

(member A) that contains angular boulders of sandstone and limestone up to 1 ft (30 em) long, and rounded 

pebbles and cobbles of chert, quartzite, and vein quartz 

(Colburn, 1961). The remainder of the Meganos consists 

of thick alternating sandstone and shale units, with 

sandstone predominating in the lower and upper parts 

(members B, C, and D of Clark and Woodford, 1927 and 

Colburn, 1961). A 20-ft-thick (6 m) bed in the upper part 

of the formation contains abundant thick-shelled mollusks, thin beds of orbitoidallimestone, and, toward the 

east, thin lignite seams (Colburn, 1961). The composition and heavy mineralogy of upper Meganos sandstones suggest a source area of felsic plutonic rocks 

(Clark and Woodford, 1927). Colburn (1961, 1964) inferred that the Martinez and Meganos Formations were 

deposited in shallow marine conditions during a southward transgression onto an area of low relief. 

Both the Martinez and Meganos Formations extend 

northward in subsurface for about 60 miles (100 km) 

beneath the Sacramento Valley, where they conformably overlie Upper Cretaceous strata; farther north and 

east they are truncated by pre-middle Eocene unconformities (Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1951, 1960; Safonov, 1962; Lachenbruch, 1962; Hackel, 1966). Abrupt lateral facies 
16 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

changes from sandstone to siltstone in the Meganos 

about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Mount Diablo have 

been interpreted by Safonov (1962) as the result of deltaic sedimentation, by Silcox (1962) as siltstone-filled 

channels cut into sandstone, and by Fischer (1971) as 

submarine canyon and fan deposits. In any case, the 

distribution of sandstones in the · Meganos indicates 

that they were transported southwestward and apparently derived from the Sierran landmass. The combined 

thickness of the Martinez and Meganos Formations increases abruptly from about 2,000 ft (600 m) to nearly 

3,500 ft (1,100 m) westward across the Midland fault 

zone (fig. 2), which is downthrown to the west, indicating early Tertiary movement of the fault (Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists,· 

1951). 

Strata referred to the Capay Formation, the Meganos 

E shale, or the Marysville Claystone Member of the 

Meganos Formation, of Penutian to Ulatisian age, are 

about 700ft (210m) thick on the north flank of Mount 

Diablo (Berry, 1964; Johnson, 1964). They extend north 

of Mount Diablo as far as 130 miles (210 km) into the 

northern Sacramento Valley as a 200- to 300-ft-thick 

(60-90 m) blanket of glauconitic siltstone and claystone 

that unconformably overlies Paleocene and older rocks 

(Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum 

Geologists, 1951, 1960). Sandstone and conglomerate to 

the north arid east suggest source areas in those directions (Safonov, 1962). To the northwest beneath the 

Sacramento Valley, shales of the Capay Formation are 

truncated by the ((Capay" or ((Princeton" gorge, a 

north-south-trending erosional feature that has been 

interpreted as a submarine canyon cut into Cretaceous 

strata and filled by 2,000 ft (600 m) or more of sediments 

of ((Capay" age (Pacific Section, American Association 

of Petroleum Geologists, 1960; Safonov, 1962; Redwine, 

1972). The deposits filling this postulated submarine 

canyon are sparsely fossiliferous silty to sandy mudstones with some interbedded sandstone and conglomerate (Hackel, 1966). The original type section of 

the Capay Formation in Capay Valley may represent 

canyon-fill deposits; Stewart (1949) reported that 

molluscan fossils in this section are abraded and larger 

than those from the underlying ·mudstones, and 

suggested that they were transported from shallow 

marine environments. 

The Capay Formation contains various fossils suggestive of moderate depths and stagnant bottom conditions (Stewart, 1949) and records the greatest extent of 

the marine transgression begun earlier in ttMeganos" 

time. The formation thickens abruptly west of the Midland fault zone, indicating that vertical displacement on 

this fault continued into the Eocene (Pacific Section, 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1951). 

The Domengine Sandstone, of Ulatisian age, is about 

800 to 1,200 ft (240-360 m) thick on the north flank of 

Mount Diablo (Colburn, 1961; Johnson, 1964; Berry, 

1964). ·It consists of a lower member of massive, 

medium- to coarse-grained, quartzose arenite with interbedded coal seams, a middle member of silty mudstone and fine sandstone, and an upper member of interbedded mudstone and very thickly bedded, mediumto coarse-grained sandstone (Colburn, 1961). Nearshore 

deposition in an area of possible low-lying beaches and 

swamps similar to the modern Florida coast is suggested by the presence of thick-shelled mollusks, coal, 

and silicified wood in the lower Domengine; an eastward increase in abundance of coals suggests that a 

landmass lay in that direction (Colburn, 1961). Shallow 

marine depositional environments are also indicated by 

molluscan faunas in the upper Domengine (Colburn, 

1961). 

The Domengine crops out along the southwestern 

edge of the Sacramento Valley and extends in subsurface northward from Mount Diablo for about 80 miles 

(130 km). It records the last major early Tertiary 

marine transgression of the Sacramento Valley area 

and deposition in a complex of marginal marine, littoral 

and sublittoral environments (Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1960; Todd 

and Monroe, 1968). It is about 500 ft (150 m) thick 

throughout this region and may be partly nonmarine to 

the north and east, where it partly correlates with the 

lone Formation of the Sierra Nevada (Safonov, 1962; 

Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum 

Geologists, 1951, 1954, 1960). 

The Nortonville Shale Member of the Kreyenhagen 

Formation, of late Ulatisian and early Narizian age, 

consists of mudstone with some interbedded sandstone. 

It is about 500 ft (150 m) thick on the north flank of 

Mount Diablo, where it is included in the upper part of 

the Domengine Sandstone by Colburn (1961), and as 

much as 2,500 ft (760 m) thick on the south flank (Pacific 

Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 

1960; Johnson, 1964; Berry, 1964). It extends in subsurface northward from the Mount Diablo area for about 45 

miles (72 km) beneath the Sacramento Valley; along its 

northern and eastern margins it is truncated by a 

post-Eocene unconformity (Johnson, 1964; Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 

1951 and 1960). The Nortonville ((represents a deepening water phase of the Domengine transgression" 

(Johnson, 1964), and is similar in age, lithology and 

faunal content to the lower part of the Kreyenhagen 

Formation ofthe San Joaquin Valley (Fulmer, 1964). It 

contains some volcanic ash northeast of Mount Diablo 

(Safonov, 1962). 

The Narizian Markley Sandstone Member of the 
NORTHEASTERN AREA 17 

Kreyenhagen Formation is as much as 4,500 ft (1,400 

m) thick on the north flank of Mount Diablo, where it is 

a massive, medium- to coarse-grained sandstone with 

some interbedded thin shale (Stewart, 1949; Colburn, 

1961; Berry, 1964; Mallory, 1959). Thick sections are 

also present farther north in the Vacaville area (Bailey, 

1930; Day, 1951; Weaver, 1953). However, it is absent 

on the south flank of Mount Diablo. The sandstones are 

arkosic, with 50-65 percent quartz, 10-25 percent 

potassium feldspar, 5-25 percent plagioclase feldspar, 

and minor biotite, muscovite, and glauconite; heavy 

minerals include much green hornblende, tremoliteactinolite, and epidote, lesser amounts of garnet, 

sphene, zircon, and tourmaline, and small amounts of 

glaucophane and andalusite (Morris, 1962). Paleocurrent directions from outcrops in the Mount Diablo area 

indicate transport of sediment to the west. Foraminiferal faunas from the lower part of the Markley in the 

Vacaville area indicate deposition at bathyal or greater 

depths and in a basin connected to the open ocean; 

faunas from the 700-ft-thick (210m) late Narizian Sidney Shale Member of the Markley Formation of Clark 

and Campbell (1942) on the north flank of Mount Diablo 

indicate deposition at neritic to mid-bathyal depths 

(Mallory, 1959). 

The Markley Sandstone Member extends in subsurface northward into the Sacramento Valley where it is 

truncated on the north and east by a post-Eocene unconformity (Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1951 and 1960). An eastern Sierran 

source for the Markley is indicated by paleocurrent 

directions, sandstone composition, and the eastward 

transition from deep marine to shallow marine and 

nonmarine depositional environments (Safonov, 1962). 

The HMarkley gorge," which extends in subsurface from 

north of Sacramento southwestward for 60 miles (100 

km) to the vicinity of Rio Vista, may be an early Tertiary submarine canyon; it is cut as deeply as 1,200 ft 

(370 m) into Upper Cretaceous to lower Eocene shale 

and is filled with upper Eocene and Oligocene shale, 

sandstone, and conglomerate (Safonov, 1962; Almgren 

and Schlax, 1957). 

SAN LEANDRO HILLS 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary strata about 

1,500 ft (450 m) thick crop out in a small area of the San 

Leandro and Berkeley Hills near Oakland. The sequence consists of (1) the Pinehurst Shale of Ynezian 

age, about 500 ft (150 m) of interbedded siliceous sh~le 

and thinly bedded sandstone that contain abundant 

radiolarians and sparse foraminifers; and (2) unnamed 

Eocene strata of Ynezian to HDomengine"(?) age, about 

1,000 ft (300m) of glauconitic sandstone with subordinate shale, conglomerate, and fossiliferous limestone 

(Case, 1963, 1968). The Pinehurst Shale rests conformably on Upper Cretaceous. marine shales. The unnamed 

Eocene strata are not found in contact with the 

Pinehurst Shale and are either in faulted contact with 

or unconformably overlain by Miocene marine 

sedimentary rocks. 

SAN JOSE AREA 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks crop out in 

separate areas located east of the San Andreas and 

Pilarcitos faults in the general vicinity of San Jose. 

They have not been studied in great detail in this structurally complex area and their stratigraphic relations 

to one another are not known. Relatively thick sequences of sandstone that were probably deposited in 

deep marine environments and resemble the type 

Butano Sandstone of the Santa Cruz Mountains have 

been mapped and named the Butano or Butano(?) Sandstone by workers in this area. However, these sandstones overlie Franciscan rocks, and it is probable that 

they were originally deposited well over one hundred 

miles (300 km) southeast of the type Butano Sandstone 

and reached their present position by large amounts of 

right-lateral slip along the nearby San Andreas fault. 

The lower Tertiary strata that crop out between the 

Pilarcitos and San Andreas faults about 30 miles (48 

km) northwest of San Jose are 1,200-1,700 ft (360-520 

m) thick and have been mapped as Butano Sandstone by 

Esser (1958), Mack (1959), Burtner (1959), and Brabb 

and Pampeyan (1972). These strata rest unconformably 

on the Franciscan assemblag~ and are overlain unconformably by Miocene marine sedimentary rocks. They 

are mostly thickly bedded, internally structureless, 

fine- to coarse-grained arkosic sandstone with some interbedded thin- to medium-bedded fine-grained sandstone, siltstone, shale, and locally abundant pebble conglomerate. A basal conglomerate contains angular 

fragments of Franciscan graywacke and diabase (Burtner, 1959). The sandstone is 40-50 percent quartz, 

20-25 percent plagioclase feldspar, 5 percent potassium 

feldspar, and smaller amounts of biotite, muscovite, 

glaucophane, zircon, sphene, and other heavy minerals 

(Mack, 1959). Pebble clasts are primarily volcanic.rocks 

and chert, with very small amounts of quartzite (Mack, 

1959). Foraminiferal faunas indicate an Ynezian or 

Bulitian age for at least part of the sequence and deposition at depths greater than 600ft (180m) in a basin with 

access to the open ocean (Esser, 1958). Deposition by 

turbidity currents and slumping was inferred by Esser 

(1958) and Mack (1959). 

Lower Tertiary strata about 4,000 ft (1,200 m) thick 

that crop out east of the San Andreas fault about 20 

miles (32 km) northwest of San Jose and west of Palo 

Alto have ~een mapped as the Butano(?) Sandstone by 
• 

18 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

Dibblee (1966c) and Brabb and Pampeyan (1972), as 

unnamed Eocene sandstones by Page and Tabor (1967), 

and as informally named sandstones by Beaulieu 

(1970). These strata rest unconformably on the Franciscan assemblage and are unconformably overlain by 

Miocene sedimentary rocks. Planktonic foraminiferal 

faunas indicate a late Paleocene to late Eocene age for 

these rocks and benthonic foraminiferal faunas indicate 

a Penutian to Narizian age (Graham and Classen, 1955; 

Graham, 1967; Page and Tabor, 1967; Clark, 1968; 

Beaulieu, 1970). The sequence consists mostly of interbedded arkosic sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone with 

locally abundant conglomerate lenses. A basal breccia 

and conglomerate that contains fragments of Franciscan graywacke up to 15ft (4.5 m) long is locally present. 

Chaotically bedded zones are abundant throughout the 

rocks; they consist of large blocks of sandstone set in a 

sheared mudstone matrix and are probably of both tectonic and synsedimentary origin (Page and Tabor, 1967; 

Beaulieu, 1970). The sandstone composition averages 

55 percent quartz, 25 percent plagioclase feldspar, 17 

percent potassium feldspar, and lesser amounts of mica, 

glauconite, and heavy minerals such as zircon, tourmaline, staurolite, anatase, sphene, and garnet. Chert 

accounts for about half of the conglomerate clasts, the 

remainder being quartzite and volcanic rocks. Beaulieu 

(1970) concluded that the basal breccia and conglomerate were deposited at neritic depths, after which the 

basin subsided rapidly and the overlying sandstone, 

siltstone, and mudstone were deposited at upper to 

lower bathyal depths by turbidity currents. He also 

determined southward-directed paleocurrents and suggested that the source area consisted primarily of the 

granitic and metamorphic rocks of the Sierra Nevada to 

the east. A Sierran rather than a Salinian block source 

was also inferred by Tieh (1965, 1973), on the basis of 

the abundance of staurolite in the heavy mineral suite. 

Lower Tertiary rocks also crop out southwest of 

San Jose in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains and 

have been mapped and described by Bauer (1971), 

McLaughlin, Simoni, Osbun, and Bauer (1971), 

McLaughlin (1973), Dibblee (1973a), and Simoni 

(1974). This sequence comprises (1) a lower shale and 

mudstone unit that contains some interbedded 

sandstone and a conglomeratic sandstone near the base, 

of Late Cretaceous to middle Eocene age and 170--1,800 

ft (50--550 m) thick, and (2) an upper sandstone unit, 

mapped as the Butano(?) Sandstone by Bauer (1971), 

probably of middle and late Eocene age and 1,300--1,800 

ft ( 400--550 m) thick. The sandstones are fine- to 

coarse-grained and thin- to thick-bedded, but become 

more massive higher up in the sequence; they are 

arkosic, about 55--65 percent quartz, 18--25 percent 

potassium feldspar, 15--20 percent plagioclase feldspar, 

5 percent rock fragments, primarily chert, siltstone, 

schist, and quartzite, and minor amounts of apatite, 

magnetite, and biotite (Bauer, 1971; McLaughlin, 1973; 

Simoni, 1974; E. Osbun, written commun., September 

1973). McLaughlin (1973) concluded that the lower unit 

had been deposited at bathyal depths in a basin with 

unrestricted access to the ocean, and that the upper unit 

had been deposited at outer neritic to bathyal depths in 

part by turbidity currents. Farther east in this area, 

Bailey and Everhart (1964) described a lower middle 

Eocene sequence in the Santa Teresa Hills that consists 

of shale and overlying sandstone containing scattered 

lenses of fossiliferous limestone. 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rock~ that crop 

out along the western edge of the Diablo Range about 15 

miles (23 km) southeast of San Jose have been described 

by Gilbert (1943), Ortalda (1950), Frames (1955), Carter (1970), Bennett (1972), and Dibblee (1973b). They 

rest both conformably or unconformably on similar 

Upper Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks and are 

overlain unconformably by Miocene marine sedimentary rocks. Carter (1970) determined a maximum 

thickness of about 6,600 ft (2,000 m) for these strata and 

divided the sequence into (1) a sandstone unit 600 ft 

(180 m) thick 'of Paleocene(?) age; (2) a mudstone unit 

2,300 ft (700 m) thick of Paleocene age; and (3) a thinly 

interbedded sandstone, siltstone, and shale unit that 

contains some interbedded massive arkosic sandstone 

and a basal conglomeratic sandstone, 3,750 ft (1,150 m) 

thick and of Eocene age. The sandstones are 35--60 

percent quartz, 15--25 percent potassium feldspar, 1-10 

percent plagioclase feldspar, 5--15 percent chert; less 

than 5 percent volcanic, schistose, and shale rock 

fragments; minor amounts of mica, sphene, epidote, 

garnet, zircon, and chlorite; and locally large amounts 

of glauconite (Carter, 1970; Bennett, 1972). Conglomerate clasts are primarily chert, porphyritic volcanic rocks, granitic and metamorphic rocks, sandstone, 

siltstone, limestone, and shale (Carter, 1970). The 

sequence is apparently incomplete in adjacent areas 

and different ages, thicknesses, and informal names 

have been assigned to it by other workers. Carter (1970) 

determined northwestward-directed paleocurrents 

from flute casts and primary current lineations. 

Bennett (1972) inferred that most of the sequence was 

deposited in deep marine environments with access to 

the open ocean, although some of the basal conglomeratic sandstones may have been deposited in shallow 

marine environments. 

TESLA AREA 

The Tesla Formation, which is as much as 2,000 ft 

(600 m) thick, crops out along the northeastern flank of 
NORTHEASTERN AREA 19 

the Diablo Range near Tesla. In this area, it is of 

Paleocene to lower Eocene CCapay" age, unconform~ 

ably overlies Upper Cretaceous marine strata and 

is unconformably overlain by Miocene strata (Huey, 

1948). The Tesla is a heterogeneous assemblage of arkosic, quartzose, and anauxitic sandstone, carbonaceous shale and claystone, and lignite seams. The anauxitic sandstones are characteristic of the formation 

and resemble beach sands in that they are fine . to 

medium grained, well sorted, and crossbedded. These 

sandstones are 7 5 percent or more angular quartz, 

10--22 percent orthoclase (often kaolinized), up to 3 percent each of oligoclase-andesine and microcline, and 

traces of chert and biotite (H uey, 1948). Heavy minerals 

are sparse but include andalusite, zircon, tourmaline, 

and lesser amounts of staurolite, garnet and several 

other minerals (Huey, 1948; Morris, 1962). 

A Sierran source for the anauxitic sandstones was 

suggested by Huey (1948) partly on the basis of 

mineralogical similarities to the lone Formation. Allen 

(1941) postulated a contemporaneous Franciscan 

source in the Coast Ranges for interbedded ·micaceous 

sandstones that contain fresh biotite, albite, and glaucophane. The lower part of the Tesla contains 

brackish-water megafossils, and the upper part 

shallow-marine megafossils (Huey, 1948). The character of the Tesla sediments and faunas and the absence of 

the Tesla in outcrops farther north and in subsurface to 

the east suggest that the early Tertiary basin in the San 

Joaquin Valley shoaled northward and that basins in 

the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley areas were 

separated from Paleocene to early Eocene time by a 

structural or topographic high, presumably the Stockton arch. 

ORESTlMBA AREA 

A conformable sequence of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks crops out for nearly 25 miles ( 40 km) along 

the western border of the San Joaquin Valley near 

Orestimba; it conformably or disconformably overlies 

Cretaceous marine strata and is unconformably overlain by Miocene marine strata (Collins, 1949; Booth, 

1950; Hacker, 1950). The sequence comprises the Tesla 

and Kreyenhagen Formations. 

The Tesla Formation is carbonaceous siltstone and 

shale with interbedded fine-grained anauxitic quartzose sandstone (Booth, 1950) containing ripple markings and cross-strata, about 2,300 ft (700 m) thick, of 

Paleocene to ~~Domengine" age. Brackish-water mega-

·faunas are present in the lower 1,000 ft (300 m) of the 

Tesla (Booth, 1950) and shallow-marine magafaunas 

are present at the top in a greensand of as much as 20 

percent glauconite and 70 percent or more quartz 

(Stewart and others, 1944; Collins, 1949; Booth, 1950). 

The Kreyenhagen Formation is a locally carbonaceous shale with some andesitic sandstone in the lower 

part, 750--1,100 ft (230--340 m) thick and ofN arizian age 

(Collins, 1949). These sandstones also contain zoned 

plagioclase, hypersth~ne, augite, and basaltic hornblende, and montmorillonoid-coated volcanic fragments that impart a distinctive blue color (Booth, 1950). 

LAGUNA SECA AREA 

Lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks about 2,000 ft (600 

m) thick crop out for about 11 miles (18 km) along the 

west flank of the San Joaquin Valley south of Los Banos 

in the Laguna Sec a area. The sequep.ce comprises the 

Laguna Seca Formation of Payne (1951), the Tesla(?) 

Formation and the Kreyenhagen Formation, disconformably overlying Upper Cretaceous marine strata 

and unconformably over lain by Miocene nonmarine 

strata. 

The Laguna Seca Formation of Payne (1951) is shale, 

siltstone and fine-grained massive micaceous sandstone, about 1,200 ft (370 m) thick, of uMartinez" to 

~~capay(?)" age (Stewart and others, 1944; Payne, 1951; 

Briggs, 1953). Deposition in shallow marine environments is indicated by crossbedded and ripple-marked 

sandstones, abundant molluscan and coralline faunas, 

glauconite, numerous petrified logs and wood fragments, andPholas borings in sandstone (Briggs, 1953). 

The Tesla(?) Formation is a glauconitic quartzose 

sandstone and soft anauxitic carbonaceous claystone, 

locally ripple-marked and crossbedded, 50--200 ft 

(15-60 m) thick and ~~capay(?)" to UDomengine(?)" in 

age (Briggs, 1953). Heavy minerals are sparse and include andalusite, zircon, garnet, epidote, sphene, and 

tourmaline. Deposition in shallow marine environments and a Sierran source are indicated by the 

sedimentary structures and sandstone composition. 

The only fossils are leaf imprints and wood fragments. 

The N ariz ian Kreyenhagen Formation, diatomaceous and radiolarian shale with some thin limestone 

lentils and volcanic ash layers, is about 700ft (210m) 

thick in this area. Glauconitic sandstone and siltstone 

containing Tesla(?)-like pebbles and cobbles are present 

near the base of the Kreyenhagen, suggesting that the 

contact with the Tesla(?) Formation is an unconformity 

(Briggs, 1953). Deposition of the lower part of the 

Kreyenhagen in relatively shallow marine environments is suggested by the presence of mollusk burrows 

and cross bedding; deposition of the upper part in quiet, 

somewhat deeper marine environments is suggested by 

the presence of thin and regular bedding (Briggs, 1953). 

BOLADO PARK AREA 

The lower Tertiary strata that crop out along the west 
20 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

flank of the Diablo Range near Bolado Park have been 

mapped by Kerr and Schenck (1925), Wilson (1943), 

Taliaferro (1945), Washburn (1946), Dempster (1951), 

and Dibblee (1972b, 1973d) as consisting in ascending 

order of (1) the Indart Sandstone of Taliaferro (1945), 

(2) The Los Muertos Creek Formation of Wilson (1943), 

and (3) the Tres Pinos Sandstone of Kerr and Schenck 

(1925). The sequence was generally thought to be internally conformable, to overlie Upper Cretaceous marine 

strata, and to be unconformably overlain by Quaternary nonmarine sediments. 

The stratigraphic order of the sequence has been reinterpreted by Kaar (1962) on the basis of foraminiferal 

studies, by Sullivan (1965) on the basis of nannoplankton studies, and by Kleinpell, Weaver, and Doerner 

(1967) on the basis of general biostratigraphic relations, 

to consist in ascending order of (1) the Bolado Park 

Formation of Sullivan (1965), (2) the Tres Pinos Sandstone of Kerr and Schenck (1925), (3) the Los Muertos 

Creek Formation of Wilson (1943), and (4) the lndart 

Sandstone of Taliaferro (1945). These writers consider 

the top and bottom of the sequence to be truncated by 

faults and the sequence to be internally conformable, 

even though the contact between the Los Muertos Creek 

Formation and the Indart Sandstone is thought to be 

faulted and the contact between the Bolado Park Formation and the Tres Pinos Sandstone is covered. 

Dibblee (oral commun., April1974) considers the Bolado Park and Los Muertos Creek Formations to be 

equivalent and exposed on the opposite limbs of a syncline. We have not resolved the differences in the stratigraphic interpretations of this area and are not certain 

which stratigraphic superposition of units is correct. 

Preliminary work has suggested that the area is more 

complex structurally than has been previously shown. 

The following description of the formations is based on 

all of the previous work, with the ages based primarily 

on the paleontologic studies. 

The Bolado Park Formation consists of foraminiferal 

mudstone and shale about 400 ft (120 m) thick. It is 

thought to·be of Ynezian to Penutian age, deposited at 

bathyal depths in a basin having access to the open 

ocean, although the lower 40 feet (12m) may have been 

deposited in somewhat restricted conditions (Sullivan, 

1965). 

The unfossiliferous Tres Pinos Sandstone consists of 

thickly bedded sandstone with thin shale interbeds. It is 

as much as 900ft (270m) thick and is thought to be of 

Penutian age. It is composed of quartz, lesser amounts 

of feldspar, and small amounts of zircon, biotite, garnet, 

glaucophane, and sphene (Wilson, 1943). Our preliminary work indicates deposition on a submarine fan by 

turbidity currents, grain flows, and fluidized sediment 

flows; paleocurrent measurements indicate sediment 

transport toward the north and northeast, with a source 

area consisting of granitic and metamorphic rocks located to the southwest within the Salinian block. It may 

be equivalent to the Cantua Sandstone Member of the 

Lodo Formation in the Vallecitos area (Nilsen, Dibblee, 

and Simoni, 1974). 

The Los Muertos Creek Formation is 1,100--1,250 ft 

(340--380 m) thick and consists of (a) a basal fossiliferous conglomerate 10--15 ft (3-4.5 m) thick that contains 

pebbles of quartz, chert and limestone; (b) siltstone and 

fine-grained sandstone about 600 ft (180 m) thick that 

contains local beds of coarse-grained sandstone as much 

as 4ft (1.2 m) thick compositionally similar to the Tres 

Pinos Sandstone; and (c) interbedded siltstone, mudstone, and siliceous shale about 600ft (180m) thick. The 

Los Muertos Creek Formation thought to be of Ulatisian and N arizian age. Molluscan faunas indicate deposition of the basal conglomerate in shallow marine 

environments; foraminiferal faunas from shale in the 

middle part of the formation indicate deposition at 

bathyal to abyssal depths and foraminiferal faunas 

from siliceous shale in the upper part of the formation 

indicate deposition at intermediate depths. 

The Indart Sandstone consists of unfossiliferous 

fine-grained sandstone about 900ft (270m) thick and is 

thought to be Narizian or younger. 

VALLECITOS AREA 

Lower Tertiary strata as much as 5,000 ft (1,500 m) 

thick crop out in the Vallecitos syncline and along the 

adjacent eastern flank of the central Diablo Range. The 

strata disconformably overlie Upper Cretaceous marine 

strata and are conformably overlain by Refugian 

marine strata. The sequence is internally conformable 

except for an unconformity at the base of the Yokut 

Sandstone of White (1940) and the Domengine Sandstone (Anderson and Pack, 1915; White, 1938, 1940; 

Payne, 1951; Schoellhamer and Kinney, 1953; Pacific 

Section, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 

1957b; Mallory, 1959; Enos, 1965; Dibblee and Nilsen, 

197 4). The sequence comprises four units: 

(1) the Lodo Formation, about 500 to 5,000 ft (150--

1,500 m) thick, is here subdivided into three members: 

(a) the Cerros Shale Member, 100--700 ft (30--210 m) 

thick of Ynezian and Bulitian(?) age; (b) the Cantua 

Sandstone Member, 0--4,500 ft (0--1,400 m) thick of late 

Bulitian and Penutian age; and (c) the Arroyo Hondo 

Shale Member, 500--1,100 ft (150--340 m) thick ofPenutian and Ulatisian age (White, 1938, 1940; Mallory, 

1959; Sullivan, 1965). The shale members are similar in 

age and lithology to the Lodo Formation of other parts of 

the southern Diablo and northern Temblor Ranges and 

are mostly glauconitic, ..foraminiferal mudstone and 

siltstone but contain minor amounts of interbedded 
NORTHEASTERN AREA 21 

fine-grained sandstone. Only where the Cantua Sandstone Member is present are the shale members 

separable. 

The Cantua Sandstone Member in outcrop wedges 

out in shale 7-8 miles (11-13 km) north and south of the 

Vallecitos syncline and probably in subsurface about 15 

miles (24 km) east of it (White, 1940; Regan, 1943; 

Pacific Section, American Association of Petroleum 

Geologists, 1958). The Cantua consists mostly of fine- to 

coarse-grained, massive, thickly bedded, arkosic sandstone beds as much as 25 ft (7 .6 m) thick, separated by 

thin shale interbeds. Regan (1943) determined a composition of about 40 percent quartz, 40 percent potassium feldspar, 15 percent andesine, and 5 percent heavy 

minerals and rock fragments. Nilsen, Dibblee and Simoni (1974) counted 21-51 percent quartz, 13-29 percent potassium feldspar, 12-33 percent plagioclase 

feldspar, 1-4 percent glauconite, and 0-6 percent lithic 

fragments, biotite, and heavy minerals, and calculated 

a mean quartz:feldspar ratio of 0.92:1 and a mean 

potassium: plagioclase feldspar ratio of 1.18:1. The heavy 

mineral assemblage is characterized by variable but 

often high percentages of green hornblende, epidote and 

titanite, small amounts of garnet, zircon, and tourmaline, and rare andalusite and pyroxene (Regan, 

1943). The mineralogy suggests that it was derived 

principally from a source area underlain by felsic 

plutonic rocks. Moderate depths and open ocean conditions are indicated by foraminiferal faunas from both 

the Cantua and lower Arroyo Hondo Members (Woodside, 1957; Mallory, 1959). The thickness ofthe Cantua 

Sandstone Member together with the presence of fossils 

in shales of the Lodo Formation only a short distance to 

the north and south indicate deposition at shallow to 

medium depths and suggest that the sandstone was 

deposited in an east-west-trending, relatively narrow, 

subsiding trough. Regan (1943) concluded that Cantua 

sands were transported eastward through the Vallecitos ((channel" from granitic source rocks west of the 

San Andreas fault. Nilsen, Dibblee, and Simoni (1974) 

determined that sediments were transported northward 

and northwestward, suggesting that the source area 

was located to the south, in the granitic rocks of the 

Salinian block west of the San Andreas fault. 

(2) The Ulatisian Yokut Sandstone ofWhite (1940) is 

0-300 ft (0-90 m) of fine- to medium-grained massive 

sandstones that are silty, micaceous, and somewhat 

carbonaceous near the base, and clean and well sorted 

in the upper part (White, 1940; Mallory, 1959). It is 

characterized by high potassi urn to plagioclase feldspar 

ratios (as much as 30:1) and a sparse heavy min~ral 

assemblage dominated by zircon, tourmaline, garnet, 

and andalusite (Regan, ·1943). Both abundant mollusks 

and discocyclinid Foraminifera suggest deposition in 

shallow marine environments (White, 1940). Regan 

(1943) suggested that the Yokut sands were derived 

from a western source. 

(3) The Ulatisian Domengine Sandstone, 0-800 ft 

(0-240 m) thick, consists mostly of silty glauconitic 

shale with minor amounts of interbedded fine-grained 

sandstone and a basal fine- to medium-grained fossiliferous pebbly sandstone (White, 1940; Mallory, 

1959). It overlaps the Yokut Sandstone north and south 

ofthe Vallecitos syncline area and is widespread in the 

northern San Joaquin Valley. Thin lignite seams and 

fossiliferous ccreefs" that contain abundant molluscan 

and foraminiferal faunas suggest deposition in shallow 

marine and locally brackish-water environments 

(White, 1940). Common heavy minerals include zircon, 

tourmaline, titanite, garnet, and glaucophane; variable 

amounts of epidote, andalusite, and hornblende are also 

present (Regan, 1943). The abundance of glaucophane 

and red and green radiolarian chert pebbles suggests a 

Franciscan provenance probably located in the area of 

the present central Coast Ranges (White, 1940; Regan, 

1943). The Domengine and Yokut cannot be separated 

throughout the area, and Dibblee and Nilsen (197 4) 

mapped them as an undivided unit, both deposited in 

shallow marine conditions, locally with angular unconformity on older rocks. 

( 4) The Kreyenhagen Shale, 1,000 to 2,000 ft (300-

600 m) thick, of N arizian and Refugian age, consists of 

shale that. is semisiliceous in the upper part and contains foraminiferal faunas indicative of deposition at 

medium or greater depths and free access to the open 

ocean (Mallory, 1959). 

NORTHERN TEMBLOR RANGE, SOUTHERN DIABLO RANGE, 

AND ADJACENT SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY 

The thick lower Tertiary sequence in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley and adjacent Coast Ranges has 

been subdivided by Dibblee (1973c, e) into four parts. (1) 

The Lodo(?) Formation, 0-300 ft (0-90 m) thick and of 

Ynezian to early Penutian age, consists mostly of shale. 

In the Temblor Range and Devils Den area, foraminiferal faunas from the lower part suggest deposition at 

bathyal depths in a basin having free access to the open 

ocean whereas those from the upper part suggest deposition at neritic depths (Mallory, 1970). 

(2) The Avenal Sandstone (includes the Mabury Formation ofVan Couvering and Allen (1943), middle Lodo 

Sandstone of Mallory (1959), and Acebedo Sandstone of 

Dickinson (1963), as well as the typical Avenal Sandstone), 0-600 ft (0-180 m) thick and of late Penutian to 

Ulatisian age, is a fine- to coarse-grained sandstone 

that contains discocyclinid Foraminifera, corals, burrowing annelids, and algal debris indicative of deposition at shoal depths. In the northern Temblor Range the 
22 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

Avenal also contains abundant shale chips, pebbles and 

cobbles of chert, quartzite, and metavolcanic rocks, and 

less common boulders of granitic rocks. 

(3) The Kreyenhagen Shale, 0-1,250 ft (0-380 m) 

thick is ofUlatisian to Refugian age and consists mostly 

of deep-marine hemipelagic shale. The Kreyenhagen is 

separated into the Gredal Shale Member of Ulatisian 

age (includes the upper Lodo Shale of Mallory, 1959) 

and the Welcome Shale Member of N arizian and Refugian age by the intervening Point of Rocks Sandstone, 

which wedges out into the Kreyenhagen Shale. 

Foraminiferal faunas from the Gredal Shale Member in 

the Temblor Range and at Devils Den (V. S. Mallory, 

written commun., April1970 and December 1971) suggest a progressive deepening of the basin from neritic to 

bathyal depths. 

( 4) The Point of Rocks Sandstone, ofUlatisian to early 

N arizian age, is 0-2,900 ft (0-880 m) thick in outcrops at 

Devils Den and in the northern Temblor Range, where 

it is truncated by an unconformity. It increases in 

thickness to more than 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in subsurface 

farther southeast, where it may contain Penutian or 

older strata in its lower part; it decreases in thickness 

northward and eastward, wedging out within the 

Kreyenhagen Shale along Reef Ridge and in subsurface 

18-25 miles (29-40 km) east of the Devils Den and 

Temblor Range outcrops (Clarke, 1973). It is mostly a 

thickly bedded, medium- to coarse-grained, arkosic 

sandstone with subordinate shale. The sandstones are 

35-50 percent quartz, 14-18 percent potassium 

feldspar, 10-18 percent plagioclase feldspar, 1-5 percent other minerals (principally biotite), and 8-10 percent lithic fragments that include chert, quartzite, 

shale, slate, argillite, phyllite, quartzofeldspathic 

metamorphic and plutonic rocks, and minor amounts of 

andesitic or basaltic volcanic rocks; Microcline and 

perthite feldspar are ubiquitous constituents; the 

plagioclase feldspar is unzoned oligoclase and sodic andesine. Zircon, sphene, apatite, epidote, pink garnet, 

and green hornblende are the most common heavy minerals. The sandstones are generally intermediate between arenites and wackes (Clarke, 1973). 

Foraminiferal faunas indicate that the Point of Rocks 

Sandstone was deposited largely at bathyal or greater 

depths in a basin having free access to the open ocean 

(Mallory, 1959, 1970). Paleocurrents in the northern 

Temblor Range indicate northwestward sediment 

transport, and those in the southern Diablo Range 

northeastward sediment transport (Clarke, 1973). 

Clarke (1973) concluded that the Point of Rocks sands 

were probably derived from two source areas within the 

Salinian block to the west: one situated south of the 

northern Temblor Range and the other west of the Devils Den and Avenal Ridge outcrop areas. Both source 

areas are inferred to have been underlain by felsic 

plutonic and associated metamorphic basement rocks 

as well as older sedimentary rocks. Clarke (1973) inferred that the Point of Rocks was deposited as a large 

deep-sea fan. 

The shallow-marine Avenal Sandstone of the Reef 

Ridge and probably of the A venal Ridge area, is largely 

equivalent in age (Ulatisian) to the Gredal Shale 

Member and the lower part of the Point of Rocks Sandstone to the south (Stewart, 1946; Mallory, 1959; Dickinson, 1963; Sullivan, 1965). This relation indicates 

that shallow marine conditions prevailed in the south-

. ern Diablo Range concurrently with deep marine conditions to the south in the Devils Den area and northern 

Temblor Range. 

SAN EMIGDIO AND WESTERN TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS AND 

ADJACENT SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY 

The Eocene sedimentary rocks that crop out extensively in the east-west-trending San Emigdio and western Tehachapi Mountains provide an exposed cross 

section of similar Eocene rocks that underlie the southern San Joaquin Valley to the north. The Eocene strata 

in the mountains comprise the Tejon Formation and the 

lower parts of the San Emigdio and Tecuya Formations. 

The sequence rests unconformably on granitic basement rocks in the eastern and central parts of the area 

and on mafic and ultramafic basement rocks in the 

western part of the area. 

The Tejon Formation, which is as much as 4,000 ft 

(1,200 m) thick, has been subdivided by Marks (1941, 

1943) into four members. 

(1) The Uvas Conglomerate Member, 0-400 ft (0-120 

m) thick, ranges in age from ~~capay" in the west to 

((T..ejon" in the east. It consists of a basal cobble and 

boulder conglomerate made up of clasts derived from 

the underlying basement rocks, overlain by interbedded arkosic sandstone and pebble and cobble conglomerate composed primarily of clasts of quartzite, porphyritic volcanic rocks, granite, and gneiss. A locally 

abundant megafauna indicates deposition in shallow 

marine environments. 

(2) The Liveoak Shale Member is 0-2,000 ft (0-600 m) 

thick, ofUlatisian and Narizian age. It consists of shale 

with subordinate siltstone, fine-grained sandstone, and 

lenses of conglomerate. Locally abundant foraminiferal 

faunas indicate deposition at shallow depths in the east, 

bathyal depths in the central and western areas, and 

lower bathyal to abyssal depths in the westernmost 

areas. 

(3) The Metralla Sandstone Member, 0-2,000 ft 

(0-600 m) thick, is of((Tejon" age. It consists ofmassive, 

silty, fine-grained arkosic sandstone with some interbedded conglomerate and siltstone. Its abundant mol-
NORTHEASTERN AREA 23 

luscan fauna indicates deposition at shallow depths in 

the east and at bathyal depths in the west. It fingers out 

westward into deep-marine shales of the Liveoak Shale 

Member. 

( 4) The N arizian Reed Canyon Siltstone Member is 

0-200 ft (0-60 m) thick, consisting mostly of siltstone 

but with some interbedded sandstone and shale that is 

locally very carbonaceous. Molluscan and foraminiferal 

faunas indicate deposition in shallow marine environments (Harris, P. B., 1950; Hammond, 1958; Mallory, 

1959; Dibblee, 1961; Nilsen, 1972, 1973a, b, c; Nilsen 

and others, 1973). 

Sandstones of the Tejon Formation are arkosic, generally about 50 percent quartz and 50 percent feldspar, 

with minor amounts of lithic fragments (chert, volcanic 

rocks, quartzite, granitic rocks, and shale) and biotite, 

chlorite, and muscovite. Nilsen (1973c) inferred (1) that 

the Tejon Formation was deposited during an eastward 

transgression across the present outcrop area during 

((Capay" to uTejon" time and a subsequent westward 

regression during ((Tejon" time; (2) that sediments were 

transported primarily toward the west; and (3) that a 

west-facing submarine slope in the western part of the 

area separated a shallow-marine shelf area in the east 

from a deep-marine basin in the west in which 

hemipelagic shales and turbidite sandstones were 

deposited. 

In the east, the Tejon Formation grades upward into 

the Tecuya Formation, primarily nonmarine conglomerate apparently derived from source areas to the east 

and southeast and composed of clasts of quartzite, porphyritic volcanic rocks, granite, gneiss, and marble 

(Nilsen and others, 1973). Nilsen (1972, 1973c) concluded that the lowermost part of the Tecuya Formation 

is late Eocene and that it was deposited as coastal plain 

fanglomerates. These overlie and in part interfinger 

westward with shallow-marine sedimentary rocks of 

the Tejon Formation. 

In the west, the Tejon Formation is overlain conformably by the San Emigdio Formation of N arizian and 

Refugian age (DeLise, 1967). The lower (Narizian) part 

consists of a massive shallow-marine sandstone that 

contains pebbly conglomerate and abundant mediumto large-scale cross-strata, overlain by a shale deposited 

in deeper marine waters. Subsurface and outcrop data 

suggest that the sandstone was derived from a southern 

source area (Tipton, 1971; Tipton and others, 1973; 

Nilsen and others, 1973). 

Middle and late Eocene subsurface equivalents of 

these formations can be traced northward for at least 75 

miles (120 km) beneath the southern San Joaquin Valley. In the east, the lower part of the nonmarine Walker 

Formation, which ranges in age from Eocene to early 

Miocene, interfingers westward with the late Eocene 

shallow-marine Famosa sand 7-12 miles (11-19 km) 

west of exposed Sierran basement (Pacific Section, 

American Association Petroleum Geologists, 1957a; 

Clarke, 1973). This marine-nonmarine transition probably corresponds to the contact between the Tejon and 

Tecuya Formations in the Tehachapi Mountains; it delineates the eastern shoreline of the San Joaquin basin 

area during the late Eocene. 

The Famosa sand, which is present in subsurface 

7-15 miles (11-24 km) west ofthis shoreline, is 200-600 

ft (60-180 m) thick and consist of fine- to coarse-grained, 

massive sandstone and interbedded siltstone and shale. 

It correlates with the upper part of the Tejon Formation 

to the south, as well as the Kreyenhagen Formation and 

Point of Rocks Sandstone to the west (Beck, 1952; 

Pacific Section, American Association Petroleum 

Geologists, 1957a; Hackel, 1966). The Famosa generally rests on an interbedded sandstone, siltstone, and 

shale unit 50-250ft (15-75 m) thick that rests in turn on 

crystalline basement rocks; this lower unit was probably deposited in a nonmarine environment. 

The Famosa sand interfingers westward in subsurface with the Kreyenhagen Formation, which is 

250-650 ft (7 5-200 m) thick here and consists mostly of 

dark organic shale with some thin interbedded 

fine-grained sandstone. The Kreyenhagen is lithologically similar and generally equivalent "in age to the 

Liveoak Shale Member of the Tejon Formation and the 

Kreyenhagen Formation of the Temblor Range. 

Foraminiferal faunas indicate a late Ulatisian and 

Narizian age, deposition at bathyal to abyssal depths, 

and possibly an eastward shallowing of the basin (Mallory, 1959; Clarke, 1973). This westward bathymetric 

and lithofacies transition from shelf to deep basin environments appears to define a west-facing paleoslope 

that extended northward from the western San Emigdio 

Mountains to a position 8--15 miles (13--24 km) southwest of Bakersfield and thence northeastward for about 

60 miles (100 km) to a position 5-15 miles (8--24 km) 

east of the Kettleman Hills. 

SOUTHERN TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS 

Lower Tertiary strata of the nonmarine Witnet Formation crop out in the southern Tehachapi Mountains 

and eastward along the Garlock fault (Buwalda, 1954; 

Dibblee, 1967; Dibblee and Louke, 1970). The formation 

is as much as 4,000 ft (1,200 m) thick, resting unconformably on granitic basement rocks and overlain un: 

conformably by Miocene volcanic and nonmarine 

sedimentary rocks. Although no fossils have been found 

in the Witnet Formation, Dibblee (1967) correlated it 

with the lower Tertiary Goler Formation in the El Paso 

Mountains to the west. The Witnet generally comprises 

a lower cobble conglomerate and pebbly arkosic sand-
24 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

stone that is overlain by arkosic sandstone with minor 

siltstone. The conglomerate clasts include granitic 

rocks, aplite, porphyritic volcanic rocks, metaporphyry, 

quartzite, and quartz. Dibblee (1967) concluded that the 

Witnet Formation was deposited by alluvial processes 

in a northeast-trending lowland area situated between 

highlands in the present Mojave Desert and Sierra 

Nevada regions. 

EL PASO MOUNTAINS 

Lower Tertiary strata of the nonmarine Goler Formation crop out along the north flank of the El Paso Mountains, which are located north of the Garlock fault and 

east of the Sierra Nevada (Dibblee, 1952, 1967). The 

formation is as much as 6,500 ft (2,000 m) thick, resting 

unconformably on igneous and metamorphic basement 

and overlain unconformably by Pliocene nonmarine 

sedimentary rocks. Fossil plant remains and leaves 

considered to be ofEocene age have been recovered from 

a thin coal seam at the base of the formation (F. W. 

Knowlton, in Fairbanks, 1896; Axelrod, 1949). However, vertebrate remains recovered from localities 

about 1,500 ft (460 m) stratigraphically above the 

Eocene plant locality are considered to be of Paleocene 

age (McKenna, 1955, 1960). Dibblee (1952) divided the 

Goler Formation informally into two members: a conglomerate and breccia unit 0--1,500 ft (0--460 m) thick 

apparently derived from source rocks underlying the El 

Paso Mountains, and an overlying arkosic sandstone 

and red mudstone unit as much as 6,000 ft (1,800 m) 

thick with local lenses of conglomerate, apparently derived (Christiansen, 1961) from source areas beyond the 

El Paso Mountains. Conglomerate clasts include granitic rocks, chert, quartzite, limestone, and porphyritic 

volcanic rocks. Dibblee (1952, 1967) inferred that the 

Goler Formation was deposited by alluvial processes in 

a northeast-trending lowland area situated between 

highlands in the present Mojave Desert and Sierra 

Nevada regions. 

SOUTHEASTERN AREA 

Lower Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks crop out 

only in two relatively small and widely separated parts 

of the southeastern area, which is located south of the 

Garlock fault and east of·the San Andreas fault and 

includes parts of the Mojave Desert, Transverse 

Ranges, and Salton Trough provinces (figs. 1 and 2). The 

lower Tertiary marine strata in both areas are unconformably overlain by Oligocene or Miocene nonmarine 

and volcanic strata. 

CAJON PASS AREA 

Lower Tertiary strata that crop out in and adjacent to 

Cajon Pass were originally designated the Martinez 

Formation by Noble (1954) and later redefined as the 

San Francisquito Formation by Dibblee (1967). These 

strata rest unconformably on granitic and gneissic 

basement rocks and are unconformably overlain by 

Miocene strata. The San Francisquito Formation is considered Paleocene and Eocene(?) on the basis of rare 

marine megafauna recovered from the basal part of the 

sequence. It consists of a lower pebble to boulder conglomerate 550ft (170m) thick composed of clasts of the 

underlying basement rocks and interbedded with thin 

to thick-bedded lenticular sandstone, and an upper interbedded sandstone and shale 270ft (80 m) thick (Sage, 

~973). The conglomerate near the top of the lower conglomeratic unit contains mostly clasts of quartz monzonite, biotite gneiss, and aplite, with lesser amounts of 

quartzite, quartz, and sandstone and very small 

amounts of volcanic r<;>cks; the overlying sandstone is 

arkosic and contains much larger amounts of potassium 

feldspar than plagioclase feldspar (Sage, 1973). Sage 

(1973) determined south-southwest-directed paleocurrents in the San Francisquito Formation and inferred 

that it was deposited as a submarine fan; he also suggested that it was derived from a source area underlain 

by felsic to intermediate plutonic and gneissic rocks. 

OROCOPIA MOUNTAINS 

The Maniobra Formation of Crowell and Susuki 

(1959), 4,800 ft (1,460 m) thick, crops out in a structural 

depression in the Orocopia Mountains. The Maniobra is 

considered to be oCtCapay" and uDomengine" age on the 

basis of marine magafauna; it rests unconformably on 

granitic and gneissic basement rocks; and is unconformably overlain by Miocene(?) nonmarine sedimentary rocks. Crowell and Susuki (1959) informally divided it into a lower breccia and conglomerate 2,000 ft 

(600 m) thick and an upper thinly bedded siltstone 3,000 

ft (900 m) thick that contains some interbedded arkosic 

sandstone beds as much as 30ft (9 m) thick. Both units 

contain exotic clasts as large as 30ft (9 m) in diameter. 

The sandstones are 43-80 percent quartz, 15-48 percent 

potassium feldspar, 1-14 percent perthite, and 1-5 percent plagioclase feldspar and lithic fragments, including quartzite, granite, gneiss, and metasiltstone. 

Crowell and Susuki (1959) concluded that the Maniobra 

Formation was deposited in a shallow marine embayment that probably extended eastward from the present 

outcrops, may have deepened offshore toward the west 

or south, and was adjacent to a steep, rugged coastline. 

SOUTHWESTERN AREA 

A great variety oflower Tertiary strata crop out in the 

southwestern area, which is bounded on the north and 

east by the Sur-Nacimiento, Rinconada, Big Pine, and 

San Andreas faults (fig. 1, 2). Marine strata crop out in 

the Transverse Ranges, western Peninsular Ranges 

and offshore islands; nonmarine strata crop out in the 
SOUTHWESTERN AREA 25 

eastern Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges. 

The marine and nonmarine facies distinguished in the 

Peninsular Ranges can be traced southward into Baja 

California. 

Distinctive grayish-red porphyritic rhyolite tuff 

clasts, known as the uPoway Conglomerate clast assemblage" or ((Poway-type" clasts (Woodford and 

others, 1968) are present in Eocene conglomerates in 

the Lake Elsinore, Lake Henshaw, western Peninsular 

Ranges, Santa Ana Mountains, San Joaquin Hills, 

Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills, and Piru Creek 

areas, as well as on the Channel Islands and San 

Nicolas Island (Yeats, 1968; Cole, 1973; Yerkes and 

others, 1965; Minch, 1971). They are variously considered to have been derived from unroofing of the Peninsular Ranges batholith (Bellemin and Merriam, 1958), 

from Permian and Triassic rocks of the Mojave Desert 

(Delisle and others, 1965), from an unspecified distant 

eastern source (Peterson, 1970, 1971), and from volcanic rocks in northern Sonora, Mexico (Merriam, 1968, 

1972). The clasts are very hard and extremely resistant 

to abrasion, and are inferred by Abbott and Peterson 

(1974) to indicate high energy, long distance fluvial 

transport. 

Nonmarine strata of late Eocene, Oligocene, and 

early Miocene age conformably or unconformably overlie the lower Tertiary marine strata in most parts of the 

southwestern area (Bohannon, 1974). These nonmarine 

strata are generally coarse-grained clastic rocks that 

were deposited in a variety of fluvial environments. 

Lower Tertiary marine sequences are conformably 

overlain by the nonmarine Sespe Formation of late 

Eocene, Oligocene and, early Miocene age in the Ortega 

Hill, Santa Ynez Mountains, Topatopa Mountains, central Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Ana Mountains, 

and San Joaquin Hills areas, and are unconformably 

overlain by the Sespe Formation in the Piru Creek, Las 

Llajas Canyon, Simi Hills, and Santa Rosa Island areas 

(McCracken, 1969, 1972). However, the conformable or 

unconformable nature of the basal contact of the Sespe 

has not been agreed upon in each area by all workers, 

and its nature may vary locally within the different 

areas. In the EUzabeth Lake Canyon area, the nonmarine and volcanic Vasquez Formation of Oligocene 

and early Miocene(?) age overlies lower Tertiary strata 

(Dibblee, 1967). In the western Peninsular Ranges, the 

last phase oflower Tertiary sedimentation is marked by 

deposition of nonmarine conglomerates of the Poway 

Group. 

ORTEGA HILL, PINE MOUNTAIN, SANTA YNEZ MOUNTAINS, 

AND TOPATOPA MOUNTAINS AREAS 

A thick, mostly Eocene sequence of lower Tertiary 

strata is present in these areas and fills an east-west 

trending basin generally known as the Santa Ynez 

basin. The basin can be informally divided into four 

areas for discussion purposes: (1) the Ortega Hill area, 

located south of the Big Pine fault, southwest of the Pine 

Mountain fault, and north of the Hildreth-Munson 

Creek-Tule Creek faults; (2) the Pine Mountain area, 

located south of the Big Pine fault and northeast of the 

Pine Mountain fault; (3) the Topatopa Mountains area, 

located south of the Tule Creek and Pine Mountain 

faults and east of Ojai; and (4) the Santa Ynez Mountains area, located south of the Hildreth-Munson CreekTule Creek faults and west of Ojai, and subdivided into 

northern and southern areas by the Santa Ynez fault 

(fig. 3). The sequence rests disconformably on Upper 

Cretaceous marine strata in most areas but on granitic 

basement rocks in the Pine Mountain area and on Franciscan rocks in the westernmost outcrops north of the 

Santa Ynez fault. 

The sequence can conveniently be divided into (1) 

Ynezian(?) to Ulatisian strata, comprising the Juncal 

Formation and lithologically similar units of correlative age, and (2) Ulatisian and N arizian strata, comprising the Matilija Sandstone, Cozy Dell Shale, Coldwater 

Sandstone, and lithologically similar units of generally 

correlative age (Dickinson, 1969). 

The Juncal Formation in its type area in the northern 

Santa Ynez Mountains area consists of (1) a lower unit 

of shale 1,000 ft (300 m) thick, (2) a middle unit of 

sandstone 1,000 ft (300m) thick and (3) an upper unit of 

shale 1,500 ft (460 m) thick (Page and others, 1951; 

Dibblee, 1966a). The depositional basin in this area 

shoaled toward the no:r:th and east where shallow 

marine facies are present and deepened toward the 

south and west, where deeper marine facies are present. 

In its type area, the Juncal conformably overlies the 

Sierra Blanca Limestone, which is of Penutian age and 

0-270 ft (0-80 m) thick, consisting of carbonates deposited in algal bank, shoreline, talus slope, and other 

shallow marine environments (Walker, 1950; Johnson, 

1968; Schroeter, 1972a, b, 1973). 

In the Pine Mountain area to the northeast, the Juncal consists of fossiliferous, lenticular units of conglomerate, arkosic sandstone, siltstone and mudstone that 

are about 12,000 ft (3, 700 m) thick (Schlee, 1952; Vedder and others, 1973; Givens, 1974). It rests unconformably on granitic rocks along the eastern margin of the 

area. These deposits are inferred to have been derived 

from source areas north, northeast, east, and southeast 

of the basin (Jestes, 1963). It was deposited in continental, transitional, and generally shallow marine environments (Givens, 1974). In the Ortega Hill area to the 

west, the Juncal consists mostly of mudstone and siltstone (Jestes, 1963; Badger, 1957). 

South or' the Santa Ynez fault in the central Santa 

Ynez Mountains, the three lithologic divisions of the 
34°30' 

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120°30' 

EXPLANATION 

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Outcrops of 

lower Tertiary strata 

Fault 

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Point 

Conception 

120°00' 

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Area of map 

5 AN TA BARBARA C 

'~-~AI!tl!tc-.c. 

0 5 10 15 20 MILES 

0 5 10 15 20 25 KILOMETRES 

119°00' 

mventuro 

FIGURE 3.-Index map of the western Transverse Ranges showing the distribution of outcrops of lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks (modified from Jennings and Strand, 

1969, and Jennings, 1959). 

1.\:) 

a> 

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§ 

~ ~ t; 

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6 

z 

0 

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SOUTHWESTERN AREA 27 

Juncal distinguished in the type area are present; however, the middle sandstone is much thicker and is called 

the Camino Cielo Sandstone Member (Page and others, 

1951). Stauffer (1965, 1967) concluded that most of the 

Juncal Formation in this area was deposited by turbidity currents, and that the Camino Cielo was deposited 

by grain-flow processes. Paleocurrent measurements 

from the lower Juncal indicate sediment transport to 

the southwest; those from the upper Juncal indicate 

transport to the west, south, and southeast. 

Farther east, in the western Topatopa Mountains, the 

Juncal Formation consists of the Camino Cielo Sandstone Member, 1,500 ft (460 m) thick, overlain by a 

mudstone unit 5,000 ft (1,500 m) thick that contains 

some interbedded sandstone (Bailey, in Redwine and 

others, 1952). The Juncal is not present in the eastern 

Topatopa Mountains (Eschner, 1969). The sandstones of 

the Juncal are arkoses, with the potassium feldspar to 

plagioclase feldspar ratios varying from 1:4 to 4:1; other 

constituents are lithic fragments (9--26 percent), which 

include granitic, volcanic, metamorphic, and chert 

fragments, and minor amounts of biotite and heavy 

minerals (Stauffer, 1965). 

In the western Santa Ynez Mountains, the Anita 

Shale of Kelly (1943), 300--1,000 ft (90--300 m) thick and 

of Ynezian to Ulatisian age, underlies the Matilija 

Sandstone and is laterally equivalent to the Juncal 

Formation (Kelley, 1943; Dibblee, 1950; Kleinpell and 

Weaver, 1963; Hornaday and Phillips, 1972; Gibson, 

1973c). The Anita has been divided by Gibson (1973c) 

into a lower silstone member, a middle mudstone 

member, and an upper siltstone member; in its lower 

strata, it contains thin sandstone beds with scattered 

lenses of algal limestone (Weaver and Molander, 1964; 

Gilson, 1972, 1973b, c). Weaver (1962) concluded that it 

was deposited in an offshore ba~.in that deepened 

southward progressively to bathyal depths. Paleocurrent measurements indicate that sediment transport 

was southward (Stauffer, 1965) and southwestward 

(Gibson, 1973c). According to Sage (1973), the Anita 

Shale was deposited on an offshore ocean floor characterized by very slow rates of sedimentation; the source 

area lay to the east (Gibson, 1973c). 

The Ulatisian and younger parts of the Eocene sequence have type areas south of the Santa Ynez fault in 

the eastern Santa Ynez Mountains and Topatopa 

Mountains areas (Vedder, 1972). Although parts ofthe 

sequence have been traced northward and westward, 

correlation over the whole area is difficult, probably 

because depositional environments represented by 

tongues and lenses of lithologically similar strata 

migrated laterally through time, producing complex 

facies relationships (Dickinson, 1969). 

The type Matilija Sandstone is 2,750 ft (840 m) thick, 

of Ulatisian or N arizian age. The lower part of the 

formation consists of thinly bedded, fine-grained sandstone (Bailey, in Redwine and others, 1952) with 

foraminiferal faunas indicative of deposition at bathyal 

depths (Blaisdell, 1955). The lower part of the Matilija 

Sandstone was deposited by turbidity currents that 

flowed northwestward, northeastward, and northward 

(Jestes, 1963). The upper part of the Matilija Sandstone 

in the type area is thickly bedded, medium- to coarsegrained sandstone (Bailey, in Redwine and others, 

1952) that contains molluscan and foraminiferal faunas 

indicating deposition in shallow marine environments 

(Blaisdell, 1955). Very shallow marine nearshore deposition· is indicated by sedimentary features in the 

upper Matilija, and paleocurrent patterns indicate sediment transport toward the southeast (Jestes, 1963). 

The Matilija is thought to thin eastward in the eastern 

Topatopa Mountains area, where it may finger out into 

shale (Eschner, 1969); however, a thick sequence of 

fossiliferous sandstone and shale is present there that 

may possibly be laterally equivalent to the Matilija. 

This sequence is thought to have been deposited in 

shallow marine environments and is inferred to have 

been derived from source areas to the north and east. 

In the central Santa Ynez Mountains, the Matilija is 

massive sandstone with some intercalated mudstone 

about 2,000 ft (600 m) thick (Page and others, 1951; 

Dibblee, 1966a). Stauffer (1965, 1967) concluded that 

the lower part of the Matilija here was deposited principally by grain-flow processes, with sediment transport 

toward the south and east; for the upper part, he inferred shallow marine deposition, with sediment transport toward the south and west. The Matilija thins in 

the western Santa Y nez Mountains near San Marcos 

Pass, and has been correlated with different units by 

different workers in the westernmost areas (Kelley, 

1943; Dibblee, 1950). For the correlative unit determined by Stauffer (1965, 1967) and Gibson (1973a, 

c) in the western Santa Ynez Mountains, Stauffer 

(1967) inferred that it had been deposited by grain-flow 

processes, and determined sediment transport toward 

the west and south. In the northern Santa Ynez Mountains area north of the Santa Ynez fault, the Matilija is 

about 1,300 ft (400 m) thick; here also the lower part is 

thought to be a deep marine grain-flow deposit and the 

upper part a shallow marine traction current deposit 

(Stauffer, 1965; Link, 1971, 1972, 1974). 

In the Ortega Hill and Pine Mountain areas, the 

Matilija apparently consists of several sandstone and 

shale units; in general, coarse-grained, shallow-marine 

deposits are present toward the east and fine-grained, 

deeper marine deposits toward the west (Schlee, 1952; 

Badger, 1957; Kiessling, 1958; Carman, 1964; Dickinson, 1969; Vedder and others, 1973). The Matilija in the 
28 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

Pine Mountain area is as much as 1,600 ft (490 m) thick 

and is inferred to ha··e been deposited in a nearshore, 

inner-sublittoral, marine environment (Givens, 1974); 

paleocurrents indicate sediment transport toward the 

north and west, with source areas probably to the east 

and possibly to the north, south and southeast (J estes, 

1963). In the Ortega Hill area, the Matilija is inferred to 

have been deposited by turbidity currents and submarine sliding; paleocurrents indicate sediment transport toward the northwest (Jestes, 1963). 

In the northern Santa Ynez Mountains, the composition of the Matilija Sandstone averages 40 percent 

quartz, 35 percent feldspar (about equal amounts of 

potassium and plagioclase feldspar), and smaller 

amounts of lithic fragments, which include granitic, 

metamorphic, volcanic, and sedimentary types, mica, . 

chlorite, and chert; heavy minerals include epidote, 

sphene, magnetite, apatite, zircon, tourmaline, garnet, 

and monazite (Link, 1972). Conglomerate clasts from 

local pebble beds consist of silicic volcanic rocks, chert, 

mafic igneous rocks, graywacke, limestone, granitic 

rocks, and quartz arenite (Link, 1972). 

The Narizian Cozy Dell Shale is about 3,250 ft (1,000 

m) thick in its type area, where it is silty shale and 

mudstone with some thin beds of fine-grained sandstone 

and limestone concretions (Kerr and Schenck, 1928; 

Bailey, in Redwine and others, 1952). It has been 

mapped throughout almost the entire region, although 

its thickness varies considerably: 465ft (140m) thick in 

the eastern Topatopa Mountains area, 1, 700 ft (520 m) 

thick in the central Santa Ynez Mountains (Page and 

others, 1951; Dibblee, 1966a), about 700ft (210m) thick 

in the western Santa Ynez Mountains (Dibblee, 1950), 

as much as 4,000 ft (1,200 m) thick in the northwestern 

Santa Ynez Mountains area (Dibblee, 1966a; Blaisdell, 

1955), and more than 4,000 ft (1,200 m) thick in the 

Ortega Hill area, where it includes thick sequences of 

sandstone (Jestes, 1963; Badger, 1957; Dickinson, 

1969). In the Pine Mountain area it has been mapped as 

a southeastward-lensing tongue of mudstone that includes much sandstone and some limestone; it ranges in 

thickness from 0 to 700 feet (0-210 m) and is thought to 

have been deposited at outer-sublittoral or bathyal 

depths (Vedder and others, 1973; Givens, 1974). Stauffer (1965, 1967) determined that sediment transport in 

the Cozy Dell was toward the south and west, and locally toward the north. Weaver (1962), Weaver and 

Weaver (1962), and Molander (1956) concluded that 

deposition took place at bathyal depths. 

The Narizian Coldwater Sandstone is about 2,500 ft 

(760 m) thick in its type area in the Topatopa Mountains 

area, where it is a thick-bedded fossiliferous sandstone 

interbedded with mudstone, shale and pebble conglomerate (Kerr and Schenck, 1928; Bailey, in Redwine and 

others, 1952). The Coldwater is lithologically similar at 

the eastern end of the Topatopa Mountains area, but is 

only 1,280 ft (390 m) thick (Eschner, 1969). In these 

areas, the lower part of the Coldwater is thought to be a 

turbidite, and the upper part a shallow-marine deposit 

(Natland and Kuenen, 1951). In the Pine Mountain and 

Ortega Hill areas, the Coldwater is about 500ft (150 m) 

thick and consists of sandstone that is locally conglomeratic and interbedded with siltstone and mudstone; in these areas, it rests with local unconformity on 

the Cozy Dell Shale and was deposited in very nearshore marine and marginal marine, locally deltaic, environments (Jestes, 1963; Vedder and others, 1973; Givens, 1974). 

In the western Santa Ynez Mountains, the Coldwater 

Sandstone grades laterally westward into the Sacate 

Formation of Kelley (1943); which is about 1,000 ft (300 

m) thick, mostly sandstone in the lower part and mudstone in the upper part (Kelley, .1943; Dibblee, 1950; 

Hornaday, 1965; Hornaday and Phillips, 1972). The 

Sacate is thought to have been deposited at bathyal 

depths (Wilson, 1954; Hornaday, 1961; Kleinpell and 

Weaver, 1963); deposition is thought to have been by 

grain-flow and turbidity current processes as well as by 

hemipelagic sedimentation on a submarine fan, with 

sediment transport dominantly toward the west 

(O'Brien, 1972). 

The Gaviota Formation of Effinger (1936), 700-1,750 

ft (210-530 m) thick and ofNarizian and Refugian age, 

overlies the Coldwater and Sacate Formations in the 

western Santa Ynez Mountains (Kelley, 1943; Dibblee, 

1950). The lower member is a mudstone ofNarizian age 

which was deposited at bathyal depths (Wilson, 1954; 

Kleinpell and Weaver, 1963); this member thins eastward and grades laterally into shallow marine sand-

~tone (O'Brien, 1972). 

Sandstones of the Coldwater, Sacate, and Gaviota 

Formations in the western Santa Ynez Mountains are 

arkoses or lithic arkoses, 40-50 percent quartz, 20-30 

percent potassium feldspar, 10-20 percent plagioclase 

feldspar, and 5-30 percent lithic fragments, mostly 

igneous but including some metamorphic and sedimentary fragments (O'Brien, 1972). 

The overall mineralogy and chemistry of the arkosic 

sandstones and shales of the Eocene and Oligocene 

strata in the Santa Ynez Mountains area are thought to 

indicate a source area of plutonic igneous and 

metamorphic rocks with minor amounts of volcanic 

rocks; these data, combined with general paleogeographic and paleocurrent data, suggest that the primary source area was located to the east in the Mojave 

Desert region (Van de Kamp and Leake, 1974). 

Stauffer (1965, 1967) suggested that the east-westtrending Santa Ynez basin filled with sediment during 
SOUTHWESTERN AREA 29 

two successive cycles of sedimentation, the first concluding with the shallow marine sandstones of the 

upper Matilija and the second with the shallow marine 

sandstones of the Coldwater and nonmarine deposits of 

the Sespe. He considered the primary source area to be 

to the north except for the Cozy Dell Formation, which 

may have had a southerly source, and the Coldwater 

and Sespe Formations, which may have had sources 

more to the east. 

Within the general area of the early Tertiary Santa 

Ynez basin, the limits of the basin and several subbasins have been recognized. The basin was apparently 

separated from the Sierra Madre basin to the north by 

an east-northeast-trending high generally known as 

the San Rafael high, which was underlain by Franciscan rocks. The high was not a major source of sediment 

for the deposits of the Santa Ynez basin prior to middle· 

Eocene time, because only the localized algal bank deposits in the northern Santa Ynez Mountains contain 

Franciscan detritus before this time. However, Franciscan detritus is more abundant locally in younger strata, 

suggesting that it may have become a more important 

source of sediments in middle and late Eocene and 

Oligocene time (Gibson, 1973c). 

To the west, in the Point Conception area, the Anita 

Formation and younger strata thin against a sill underlain by Franciscan rocks that forms the western boundary of the basin (Gibson, 1973c). The shelf break that 

separated relatively deep marine deposits to the south 

from shallow marine deposits to the north trended generally parallel to the modern Santa Ynez fault (Stauffer, 1965; Gibson, 1973c). A high in the San Marcos Pass 

area may have separated the basin into two subbasins to 

the west and east; prominent facies and thickness 

changes take place in this area. Eastward, the basin 

merges into the southeastern end of the Sierra Madre 

basin (Chipping, 1972a); farther eastward and southeastward, other basins or subbasins were present in the 

Simi Hills and Elizabeth Lake Canyon areas. The 

southern edge of the Santa Y nez basin is not well 

defined; the basin may have continued offshore into an 

ocean floor setting. 

PIRU CREEK AREA 

Upper Paleocene to upper Eocene strata 17,000 ft 

(5,200 m) thick rest unconformably on granitic basement rocks east and west of lower Piru Creek. Kriz 

(1947) divided the sequence into (1) conglomerate 2,900 

ft (880 m) thick with minor amounts of shale anq sandstone; (2) silty shale 5,000 ft (1,500 m) thick; (!3) finegrained conglomerate 2,000 ft (600 m) thick, with some 

sandstone near the base; (4) shale 4,500 ft (1,400 m) 

thick interbedded with sandstone; (5) thickly 'Dedded, 

locally pebbly feldspathic marine sandstone 650-2,400 

ft (180-730 m) thick interbedded with some shale; and 

(6) massive, cross-stratified nonmarine sandstone 

0-2,300 ft (0-700 m) thick interbedded with varicolored 

shale, siltstone, and some pebbly conglomerate. Kriz 

(1947) concluded that the entire sequence was deposited 

in shallow marine, possibly deltaic environments during a marine transg'!ession followed by a regression. For 

the lower 2,300 ft (700 m) of the sequence, however, 

Sage (1973) determined southwest-flowing paleocurrents; he inferred that this part of the sequence was 

deposited on a submarine fan and was derived from a 

nearby source area to the northeast underlain by felsic 

to intermediate volcanic and plutonic rocks and gneissic 

rocks. 

LAS LLAJAS CANYON, SIMI HILLS AND 

SANTA SUSANNA MOUNTAINS AREA 

Lower Tertiary strata crop out in Las Llajas Canyon 

and in the southwestern Santa Susanna Mountains to 

the north and the Simi Hills to the south. The sequence 

rests unconformably on Upper Cretaceous marine 

strata and consists of four parts. 

(1) Marine and nonmarine strata of ''Martinez" age 

280-1,430 ft (85--440 m) thick, consist of (a) a lower 

unfossiliferous conglomerate containing sandstone 

lenses inferred to have been deposited in an alluvial 

fan-braided river complex, (b) a middle unit of red beds 

consisting of conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and 

pisolitic claystone, inferred to have been deposited in 

meandering river and lagoonal environments, and (c) 

an upper fossiliferous sandstone that is lenticularly 

bedded, contains peaty shale interbeds, and is inferred 

to have been deposited· in lagoonal, alluvial, and 

shallow-marine environments (Sage, 1973). 

(2) Fossiliferous sandstone interbedded with shale, 

415--2,360 ft (125--720 m) thick of Ynezian to Bulitian 

age, is inferred to have been deposited in transgressive 

shallow-marine environments (Sage, 1973). 

For both of these Paleocene units, Sage (1973) concluded that sediments were transported southwestward 

and were derived from a source area of granitic, gneissic, quartzitic, and felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks 

that was located to the northeast. 

(3) Shale and siltstone is 300-2,110 ft (90-646 m) 

thick, of ''Meganos(?)" to ''Capay(?)" age. These strata 

are mostly of shallow-marine origin, contain a basal 

conglomerate and sandstone and disconformably overlie the older part of the sequence. 

(4) The top unit is composed mostly of sandstone, 

1,400-2,500 ft (430-760 m) thick of !!Domengine(?)" 

age. This unit disconformably overlies the shale of unit 

3 and consists of a lower conglomerate overlain by fossiliferous sandstone, siltstone, and shale inferred to 

have been deposited in shallow marine environments 
30 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

(Cushman and McMasters, 1936; Levorsen, 1947; Conrad, 1949; Bishop, 1950; Fantozzi, 1955; Martin, 1958). 

SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS 

Marine and nonmarine strata of early Tertiary age 

crop out in various parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, but are difficult to correlate because of abrupt 

facies changes and complex structure. Paleocene strata 

crop out discontinuously in fault blocks in four main 

areas. 

(1) In the easternmost part of the range is unfossiliferous, nonmarine feldspathic sandstone and 

conglomerate about 300 ft (90 m) thick (Yerkes and 

others, 1965). (2) In the Topanga Canyon area to the 

east, fossiliferous conglomerate, sandstone, and shale is 

as much as 2,000 ft (600 m) thick (Campbell and others, 

1970; Yerkes and others, 1971). Sage (1973) concluded 

that this sequence consists of alluvial fan deposits that 

grade upward into shallow marine and then into deeper 

marine deposits. (3) In the central part of the range in 

the Carbon Canyon area, conglomerate, sandstone, and 

shale is possibly as much as 2,000 to 8,500 ft (600-2,600 

m) thick (Pelline, 1952; Carter, 1958; Champeny, 1961). 

However, this sequence may include some strata 

younger or older than Paleocene (R. H. Campbell, oral 

commun., October 1973). Sage (1973) interpreted the 

sequence as shallow submarine fan deposits. (4) In the 

western part of the range in the Solstice Canyon area, 

conglomerate, sandstone, and shale are as much as 

1,650 ft (500 m) thick. The sequence contains interbeds 

of peaty shale and pisolitic claystone near the base at 

some localities. Sage (1973) inferred meandering river 

and lagoonal deposition in the lower part and shoreline 

and shallow marine deposition in the upper part. Sage 

(1973) concluded that these strata were derived from an 

area of granitic, gneissic, and felsic to intermediate 

volcanic rocks to- the northeast and east, and transported southwestward into a subsiding and deepening 

marine basin. 

The Eocene Llajas(?) Formation of Schenck (1931), 

about 1,200 ft (370m) thick and of ccDomengine" age, 

overlies the Paleocene strata with possible disconformity. It consists of interbedded locally fossiliferous 

fine-grained sandstone and siltstone of shallow-marine 

origin, and includes some thin discontinuous beds of 

very coarse-grained sandstone and cobble conglomerate 

(Campbell and others, 1970; Yerkes and others, 1971). 

ELSMERE CANYON AND GOLD CREEK AREAS 

In Elsmere Canyon south ofNewhall, strata of probable ccCapay" to ccTejon" age about 1,000 ft (300m) thick 

are faulted against granitic basement rocks (Oakeshott, 

1958). Winterer (1954) divided the Elsmere Canyon 

sequence into a lower unit of massively bedded arkosic 

sandstone that contains pebbles of quartz and granitic 

rock, a middle unit of silty shale interbedded with sandy 

limestone and conglomerate with clasts of slate and 

granitic rock, and an upper unit of very thickly bedded 

sandstone with interbeds of silty shale, large siltstone 

clasts, and pebbles of granitic rock. Because graded 

beddir.1g is common in these strata, Winterer and 

Durham (1962) concluded that they were probably turbidites, noting, however, that the abundant molluscan 

fauna present suggested that the depth of water was not 

great. 

Strata about 1,500 ft ( 460 m) thick of probable ccMartinez" age crop out near Gold Creek. These deposits are 

mostly thickly bedded coarse-grained sandstone interbedded with some thin shales. Lenses of pebble conglomerate containing porphyritic volcanic, gneiss, 

quartzite, anorthosite(?), and limestone clasts are locally present. The sequence is thought to have been 

deposited at littoral depths along a rugged coastline 

(Oakeshott, 1958). 

ELIZABETH LAKE CANYON AND VALYERMO AREAS 

The Paleocene and Eocene(?) San Francisquito Formation is about 6,900 ft (2,100 m) thick in the Elizabeth 

Lake Canyon area and 4,000 ft (1,200 m) in the Valyermo area (Dibblee, 1967). In both areas it unconformably overlies and is in fault contact with gneissic and 

granitic basement rocks; it is conformably overlain by 

Oligocene nonmarine strata in the Elizabeth Lake 

Canyon area and unconformably overlain by Miocene 

strata near Valyermo. The San Francisquito Formation 

consists of interbedded marine breccia, conglomerate, 

sandstone, siltstone, and shale that in both areas contain a ccMartinez" molluscan megafauna in the lower 

part. Various subdivisions and interpretations of the 

origin of the formation have been made by Clements 

(1937), Pfaffman (1941), Herbert Harris (1950), Smith 

(1951), Johnson (1952), Miller (1952), Holwerda (1952), 

Szatai (1961), Setudehnia (1964), Sams (1964), Stanley 

(1966), Konigsberg (1967), and Sage (1973). The ·formation in both areas was interpreted by Sage (1973) to 

represent submarine fan and basin floor sediments deposited in an unrestricted, southwest-trending basin 

that progressively deepened during the course of 

sedimentation. He inferred a provenance composed of 

felsic to intermediate plutonic, gneissic, and porphyritic 

felsic volcanic rocks that lay nearby to the northeast. 

CHANNEL ISLANDS 

The marine lower Tertiary sequences on Santa Cruz 

and San Miguel Islands rest on Upper Cretaceous 

marine strata and are overlain by Oligocene marine 

strata. The sequence on Santa Cruz Island has been 

described by Rand (1931, 1933) and Doerner (1968, 

1969), as consisting of three parts. (1) the Pozo Formation of Doerner (1969), is an Ynezian(?) to Bulitian 
II 

SOUTHWESTERN AREA 31 

sandstone and siltstone 225 ft (70 m) thick containing 

fossiliferous calcareous lenses. The lower part of the 

formation is inferred to be inner shelf deposits that were 

transported southward (Merschat, 1968, 1971; Sage, 

1973), and the upper part is inferred to be central shelf 

to upper bathyal deposits (Doerner, 1968). (2) The 

Canada Formation of Doerner (1969), 1,420 ft (430 m) 

thick, ofPenutian to Narizian age, consists of shale and 

siltstone with minor amounts of fine-grained sandstone. 

The Canada Formation unconformably overlies the 

Pozo Formation and was deposited at central shelf to 

upper bathyal depths (Doerner, 1968) by southwestward-flowing currents (Merschat, 1971). (3) The Jolla 

Vieja Formation of Doerner (1969), is a sandstone and 

conglomerate ofNarizian age as much as 880ft (270m) 

thick, containing minor amounts of fine-grained sandstone and inferred by Doerner (1968) to have been deposited at abyssal depths by southwestward-flowing 

currents. 

The San Miguel Island sequence is composed of two 

members (Weaver, 1969). (1) Undifferentiated PozoCanada Formations, shale, sandstone and conglomerate are 2,250 ft (685 m) thick and of Ynezian to 

Ulatisian age. The lower part is thought to have been 

deposited on the lower part of a deep-sea fan by northnorthwest- and south-southeast-flowing turbidity currents and grain flows (Sage, 1973): (2) The South Point 

Formation of Weaver and Doerner (1969) is 2,920 ft (890 

m) thick and of Ulatisian to N arizian age. It consists of 

sandstone and conglomerate inferred to have been deposited by northeastward-flowing turbidity currents 

and grain flows, and siltstone and mudstone inferred to 

have been deposited by both traction currents and the 

vertical settling of pelagic detritus. The South Point 

Formation is thought to have been deposited on the 

upper part of a deep-sea fan (Parsley, 1972). Outer shelf 

to upper bathyal conditions with free access to the open 

ocean are indicated by foraminiferal faunas in both 

formations (Weaver and Doerner, 1969); the source area 

was located to the northeast and east and consisted of 

granitic and metamorphic rocks (Parsley, 1972; Weaver 

and Doerner, 1969). 

A conformable sequence of lower Tertiary strata on 

Santa Rosa Island according to Weaver and Doerner 

(1969) starts with (1) the Canada Formation, shale and 

conglomerate of probable Ynezian to Ulatisian age and 

present only in subsurface. (2) The South Point Formation, 700 ft (210m) thick in outcrop and 3,450 ft (1,050 

m) thick in subsurface, is ofUlatisian and Narizian age 

and consists of fine- to coarse-grained sandstone rhythmically interbedded with siltstone and mudstone. It is 

inferred to have been deposited at bathyal depths as a 

deep-sea fan in an unrestricted basin by mass flows that 

moved northwestward; the source area is thought to 

have consisted of quartz-monzonitic to granodioritic . 

plutonic rocks or their derivative sediments (Erickson, 

1972). (3) The Cozy Dell Formation is mudstone and 

shale ofNarizian age and 410ft (130m) thick, deposited 

at bathyal depths in an unrestricted basin. On top is ( 4) 

the nonmarine Sespe Formation. 

SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND SAN JOAQUIN HILLS 

Lower Tertiary marine and nonmarine strata rest 

unconformably on both Upper Cretaceous sedimentary 

rocks and granitic basement rocks in the San Joaquin 

Hills and northern Santa Ana Mountains, and extend 

southeastward along the Elsinore fault toward Lake 

Elsinore (Woodring and Popenoe, 1945; Schoellhamer 

and others, 1954; Vedder and others, 1957; Engel, 1959; 

Gray, 1961; Durham and Yerkes, 1964; Yerkes and 

others, 1965; Vedder, 1970b). 

The Paleocene Silverado Formation, 1,150-1,875 ft 

(350-570 m) thick, has a lower unit consisting of a basal 

nonmarine conglomerate overlain by a coarse-grained 

pebbly arkosic sandstone that contains interbedded 

siltstone, carbonaceous shale, clayey grit, red pisolitic 

sandy claystone, and lignite. Sage (1973) inferred deposition of the basal conglomerate in a braided, meandering river system, and deposition of the overlying sediments in fluvial and lagoonal environments and as residual deposits on a stable area of low relief that had 

been subjected to prolonged chemical weathering. The 

upper unit consists of fine- to medium-grained fossiliferous sandstone thought to have been deposited in 

brackish to shallow-marine environments during a 

transgression of the sea (Yerkes and others, 1965). 

Paleocurrents indicating sediment transport toward 

the south-southwest were determined by Sage (1973), 

who inferred that the source area was to the northeast 

and consisted of granitic and felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks. 

The Santiago Formation, 300-2,700 ft (90-820 m) 

thick, overlies the Silverado Formation with apparent 

conformity, although a hiatus representing early 

Eocene time separates the two. It consists of: (1) a basal 

shallow-marine conglomerate and sandstone that contains clasts of porphyritic volcanic, sedimentary, and 

granitic rocks, quartzite, quartz, chert, aplite, a?-d conglomerate, with calcareous algae and other manne fossils in its upper part; (2) a shallow-marine sandstone; 

and (3) a nonmarine regressive pebbly sandstone. Molluscan and foraminiferal faunas indicate uDomengine" 

and Ulatisian ages, respectively, for the Santiago Formation (Woodring and Popenoe, 1945; Gray, 1961; 

Yerkes and others, 1965). 

SAN NICOLAS ISLAND 

Eocene marine conglomerate, pebbly mudstone, 

sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone 3,445 ft (1,050 m) 

thick crop out on San Nicolas Island (Vedder and Nor-
32 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

ris, 1963). These strata are of Ulatisian and Narizian 

age and are tentatively correlated with the South Point 

Formation of San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands on the 

basis of bathyal foraminiferal faunas and rare mollusks 

(Weaver, 1969). The sandstones are arkosic, containing 

40-60 percent quartz, 48 percent feldspar (primarily 

oligoclase), and 8--20 percent metavolcanic lithic fragments (Vedder and Norris, 1963). Paleocurrent measurements by Cole (1970; 1973) indicate sediment transport toward the south-southwest; he inferred that deposition took place on part of a large submarine delta-fan 

complex principally by grain-flow processes but also by 

subaqueous mudslides, turbidity currents, and highenergy traction currents. 

WESTERN PENINSULAR RANGES 

Nearly flat-lying shallow-marine and nonmarine 

Eocene strata as much as 1,600 ft (490 m) thick crop out 

along the western flank of the Peninsular Ranges in 

coastal areas north of San Diego. These strata unconformably overlie Upper Cretaceous marine strata and 

are unconformably overlain by upper Tertiary strata 

(Peterson, 1970, 1971; Moore and Kennedy, 1970; 

Peterson and Nordstrom, 1970; Kennedy and Moore, 

1971; Gibson and Steineck, 1972a). Kennedy (1971) and 

Kennedy and Moore (1971) divided the sequence in the 

San Diego area into the La Jolla and Poway Groups, 

assigning ages to various formations on the basis of 

coccolith studies by Bukry and Kennedy (1969), molluscan studies by Hanna (1926) and Moore (1968), and 

vertebrate studies by Golz (1971) and Golz and Kennedy 

(1971). 

The La Jolla Group consists of (1) the Mount Soledad 

Formation, marine conglomerate and sandstone of 

early(?) and middle Eocene age 230ft (70 m) thick; (2) 

the Delmar Formation, marine sandstone and shale of 

middle Eocene age, 100-200 ft (30-60 m) thick, a probable lagoonal deposit; (3) the Torrey Sandstone, mediumto coarse-grained sandstone oC(Domengine" age, 200 ft 

(60 m) thick, a probable shallow-marine deposit; (4) the 

Ardath Shale, richly fossiliferous silty shale of 

((Domengine" age, 230 ft (70 m) thick and considered by 

Gibson and Steineck (1972a) to have been deposited at 

depths greater than 1,500 ft (460 m); (5) the Scripps 

Formation, sandstone with subordinate amounts of 

conglomerate and siltstone of middle and late Eocene 

age, 220 ft (65 m) thick; and (6) the Friars Formation, 

nonmarine sandstone of middle and late Eocene age, 

115 ft (35 m) thick. 

The Poway Group consists of (1) the Stadium Conglomerate, primarily nonmarine massive cobble and 

boulder conglomerate of middle(?) and late Eocene age, 

165 ft (50 m) thick and containing abundant Powaytype clasts; (2) the Mission Valley Formation, 

fine-grained sandstone with conglomerate in the upper 

part, oflate Eocene CTejon") age and 190ft (58 m) thick, 

thought to have been deposited in shallow marine and 

nonmarine environments (Kern, 1974); and (3) an unnamed nonmarine formation of late Eocene age, 33 ft 

( 10 m) thick. 

The Eocene sequence according to Kennedy and 

Moore (1971) records an early(?) to late Eocene transgression, with the Mount Soledad, Delmar, Torrey, and 

Ardath Formations representing successive basal conglomerate, lagoonal, barrier-beach, and offshore-shelf 

facies, respectively, followed by a late Eocene regression, with the Scripps, Friars, and Stadium Formations 

representing nearshore shelf and nonmarine facies. The 

cycle ended with renewed transgression represented by 

the Mission Valley Formation and finally regression 

represented by the uppermost unnamed nonmarine 

conglomerate formation. 

LAKE ELSINORE, LAKE HENSHAW, AND 

JACUMBA VALLEY AREAS 

Lower Tertiary nonmarine gravels that are locally 

auriferous crop out in the interior parts of the Peninsular Ranges at several scattered localities. The northernmost gravels crop out near Santa Rosa Ranch in the 

northeastern Peninsular Ranges about 10 miles (16 km) 

south of Lake Elsinore, and have been informally called 

the Santa Rosa gravels (Minch, 1970); they unconformably overlie granitic and metamorphic basement rocks 

and are overlain by Quaternary volcanic rocks. A second group of gravels crop out adjacent to the Ballenas 

Valley in the central Peninsular Ranges south of Lake 

Henshaw, and have been informally called the Ballenas 

gravels (Minch, 1970, 1971); they unconformably overlie granitic basement rocks and are overlain by Quaternary alluvium~ A third group of gravels crop out near 

the Jacumba Valley in the southeastern Peninsular 

Ranges near the Baja California border, and have been 

informally called the Jacumba gravels by Minch (1970) 

and Minch and Abbott (1973); they unconformably 

overlie pre-Eocene conglomeratic sandstone and are 

overlain unconformably by Miocene volcanic and nonmarine sedimentary rocks. None of the gravels has been 

accurately dated, but they are considered to be of middle 

or possibly late Eocene age on the basis of regional 

stratigraphic relations. 

Each of the gravels is thought to have been deposited 

by major Eocene rivers (Santa Rosa, Ballenas, and 

Jacumba rivers) that flowed southwestward and emptied into the shallow sea located to the west along the 

present western edge of the Peninsular Ranges (Minch, 

1971, 1972). The Eocene Jacumba river is inferred to 

have been a southward-flowing tributary to the larger 

La Pumerosa-Las Paluma river of Eocene age that was 

located in northern Baja California. 

Congomerate clasts in the gravels of the Lake Elsi-
EARLY TERTIARY HISTORY OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT 33 

nore and Lake Henshaw areas consist of quartzite, 

Poway-type rhyolite and dacite porphyries, epidotized 

meta volcanic rocks, and epiclastic metasedimentary 

rocks; however, in the gravels of the Jacumba Valley 

area, the clasts consist of quartzite, epidotized metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks, and granitic rocks, 

without Poway-type rhyolite and dacite porphyries 

(Minch, 1970, 1972). Because only a partial suite of the 

Poway-type clast assemblage is present in the Jacumba 

gravels, Minch (1970) inferred that these gravels were 

deposited close to the boundary between Poway-type 

clast assemblages in Eocene rocks to the north, and 

quartzite-chert-argillite clast assemblages to the south. 

NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA 

The general stratigraphic distribution of lower Ter.-

tiary sedimentary rocks in the Peninsular Ranges continues southward into northern Baja California. Three 

additional nonmarine gravels thought to have been deposited by southwestward-flowing early Tertiary river 

systems have been recognized by Minch (1970, 1971) in 

the Peninsular Ranges of northern Baja. The southernmost ones, the Campo N acional and El Rodeo Rivers, 

contain clasts of gray to black quartzites, cherts, argillites, gneisses, and chlorite schists, but no Poway-type 

clasts. The northernmost river gravels are located 

about 10 miles (16 km) south of the California border 

and contain a partial suite of the Poway-type clast assemblage; these gravels were deposited by the La 

Pumorosa-Las Palmas River, of which the Jacumba 

River is thought to have been a tributary. . 

Middle Eocene sedimentary strata of shallow-marine 

character extend discontinuously southward from San 

Diego along the northwestern coast of Baja California 

(Allison, 1966; Minch, 1967; Flynn, 1970a, b). The 

strata rest unconformably on metavolcanic basement 

rocks or Upper Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks 

and consist of (1) the Delicias Formation of Flynn 

(1970a), mudstone and siltstone overlain by fine-to 

medium-grained sandstones about 300ft (90 m) thick, of 

~~Domengine" age, thought to have been deposited in 

restricted marginal marine (brackish?) environments; 

and (2) the Buenos Aires Formation of Flynn (1970a), 

conglomerate overlain by sandstone, about 500ft (150 

m) thick and considered of ~~Domengine" age. It rests 

with angular unconformity on the Delicias Formation 

and is thought to have been deposited in shallow marine 

environments. Conglomerate clasts within the Buenos 

Aires consist of quartzite, porphyry, volcanic breccia, 

dacite, and granitic rocks. 

EARLY TERTIARY HISTORY OF THE 

SAN ANDREAS FAULT 

Movements along the San Andreas fault have 

strongly influenced the tectonic and paleogeographic 

evolution of early Tertiary California and the pattern, 

style, and loci of sedimentation. Previous paleogeographic reconstructions by Reed (1933) and Reed and 

Hollister (1936) have been largely invalidated by convincing evidence for far more offset along the San Andreas and related faults in the Coast Ranges than was 

formerly believed. We suggested earlier that the San 

Andreas fault began to move in a right-lateral sense 

during the Late Cretaceous. What is known of its subsequent history is briefly summarized below. 

Hill and Dibblee (1953) observed numerous rightlateral offsets of Cretaceous to Quaternary geologic features along the San Andreas fault and noted that progressively older rocks were apparently offset by 

progressively greater distances. They concluded that 

the San Andreas fault had moved steadily during the 

past 100 million years. Other stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and paleontologic studies have provided additional evidence of continuous offset. However, Dickinson and Grantz (1968) concluded that while convincing 

evidence existed for relatively continuous movement 

from early Miocene to the present, the evidence for 

pre-Oligocene offset was only suggestive. 

An additional problem is the apparent disparity between the total offsets in northern and southern 

California. Evidence from the north suggests offset of 

more than 325 miles (520 km), while evidence from the 

south suggests that a total of no more than about 200 

miles (320 km) of offset has accumulated along the 

combined San Gabriel and San Andreas faults (Crowell, 

1962, 1973a). 

More recent studies in' central and northern California have demonstrated that lower Miocene rocks about 

22 and 23.5 m.y. old are offset between 185 and 200 

miles (300-320 km) (Bazeley, 1961; Turner, 1968, 1969; 

Turner and others, 1970; Huffman, 1972a, b; Huffman 

and others, 1973; Matthews, 1972, 1973a, b). A preliminary study of Oligocene faunal and paleogeographic 

elements suggests that Oligocene rocks have been offset 

about the same distance, 190-200 miles (305--320 km) 

(Addicott, 1968). Detailed studies of the Eocene Butano 

Sandstone of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Point of 

Rocks Sandstone of the northern Temblor Range indicate that they are congeneric and have been offset by 

about 190 miles (305 km) since mid-Narizian time, 

about 44 m.y. ago (Clarke and Nilsen, 1972, 1973; 

Clarke, 1973). Nilsen, Dibblee and Simoni (1974) have 

suggested that the Paleocene and Eocene German Rancho Formation of the Gualala area is congeneric with 

and offset about 190-200 miles (305--320 km) along the 

San Andreas fault from the Lodo Formation and its 

Cantua Sandstone Member in the Vallecitos area. In 

addition, work in progress by T. H. Nilsen and M. H. 
34 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

Link suggests that Eocene and Oligocene strata of the 

northern Gabilan Range and northern Santa Lucia 

Range are offset 190-200. miles (305--320 km) from 

equivalent strata in the San Emigdio Mountains. A 

variety of evidence suggests that Upper Cretaceous 

sedimentary rocks near Gualala have been separated 

from their source area by about 350 miles (560 km), and 

that mid-Mesozoic basement rocks are offset between 

325 and 450 miles (520-720 km) (Wentworth, 1966, 

1968; Ross, 1970; Ross and others, 1973). 

These data thus suggest a history of intermittent 

rather than continuous movement on the San Andreas 

fault: (1) right-lateral strike-slip faulting with 135 to 

260 miles (220-420 km) of offset in central and northern 

California during the Cretaceous and (or) early 

Paleocene; (2) inactivity from at least late Paleocene to 

early Miocene, and (3) renewed right-slip movement 

with about 190 miles (305 km) of offset along the present San Andreas fault since the early Miocene (fig. 4). 

Kistler, Peterman, Ross, and Gottfried (1973) have suggested a similar history on the basis of geochemical 

studies of basement rocks within the Salinian block. 

In southern California, rocks of Precambrian to about 

middle Miocene age are displaced right-laterally an 

equal distance, about 200 miles (320 km), along the 

present San Andreas fault (Crowell, 1962, 1973a; 

Minch, 1971; Merriam, 1972). The Late Cretaceous and 

Paleocene episode of right-lateral slip evident in central 

and northern California is not yet recognized in southern California, where the displacements are apparently 

entirely post-middle Miocene in age. The presence of a 

((proto-San Andreas" fault, which bypassed the present 

San Andreas fault in southern California, and along 

which about 200 miles (320 km) of offset accumulated 

by late Oligocene time, was suggested by Suppe (1970) 

to explain the apparent disparity in offsets between 

northern and southern California. He proposed that the 

Newport-Inglewood fault west of the present San Andreas fault might represent this ancestral fault trace. 

Others believe that it may be located still farther west, 

or perhaps even east of the present San Andreas fault. 

Gastil, Phillips, and Rodriquez-Torres (1972) consi-

.dered it to be near the present Gulf of California, Gastil 

and Jensky (1973) beneath the Trans-Mexican volcanic 

belt, and Minch and James (1974) proposed that a major 

fault along the east coast of central Baja California is 

the proto-San Andreas fault. 

The interpretation of magnetic anomalies on the 

oce~n floor to the west and the reconstruction of the 

history of plate movements in the Pacific also suggests 

that the California continental margin may have undergone two major episodes of right-lateral strike-slip 

faulting. Studies of sea-floor spreading data in the eastern Pacific region suggest that the present San Andreas 

fault system is a transform fault along which the Pacific 

700 

Cl) 

~ 600 

J....: 

~ 

~ 500 ~ 

~ 

:::c 400 

........ 

~ 

" 300 

~ 200 

100 

PALEOCENE 

3 4 5 6 I 

8, ,.....PA 

~"?-< 

)..·./ BH 

I 

I 

? 

I 

\ I, __ c::b__,o' --d-7 2 ,..--oolJ 

0,1 

I 

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 

AGE IN MILLIONS OF YEARS 

200" ~ 

100 

50 

~ 

~ 

FIGURE 4.-Inferred history of offset along the San Andreas fault in 

central California. Data points include: (1) Dickinson and others 

(1972); (2) Huffman (1972 a, b); (3) Turner and others (1970); (4) 

Turner and others (1970) and Huffman (1970); (5) Addicott (1968); 

(6) Clarke and Nilsen (1972, 1973); (7) Nilsen and others, 1974; (8) 

Ross and others (1973). Locations of Bodega Head (BH), Point 

Arena (PA), and Shelter Cove (SC) (about 30 miles (48 km) south of 

Cape Mendocino) shown on figures 1 and 2. Age estimates of time 

boundaries from Berggren (1972). 

and North American plates are moving past one 

another in a right-lateral sense (Wilson, 1965a, 1965b; 

Vine, 1966; Morgan, 1968; McKenzie and Morgan, 

·1969). Atwater (1970) and Atwater and Molnar (1973) 

concluded that the present San Andreas system is no 

more than 30 m.y. old; however, Atwater's (1970) reconstruction of earlier plate motions suggests that rightlateral faulting took place along the California continental margin during the period from about 80 to 60 

m.y. ago (fig. 5). 

Her model suggests that the Kula pl~te, whi_ch has 

now been completely subducted beneath the Aleutian 

Islands and mainland Alaska (Grow and Atwater, 

1970), was sliding past the North American plate at this 

time. The history of the California continental margin 

as deduced from her model consists of (1) Mesozoic 

subduction, during which Franciscan rocks were underthrust beneath the Great Valley sequence, (2) rightlateral offset along a transform. fault, perhaps the 

((proto-San Andreas fault" of Suppe (1970), during Late 

Cretaceous and early Tertiary; (3) subduction, without 

right-lateral displacement, during the period from 

about Paleocene to early Miocene time, and (4) rightlateral offset along a transform fault, the present San 

Andreas; system, from early Miocene 1 to the present. 

We believe that a proto-San Andreas fault along 

which 135 miles (220 km) or more of offset occurred 

prior to the Eocene is consistent with geologic evidence 
EARLY TERTIARY HISTORY OF THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT 35 

d. 

KULA 

~ PLATE 

E XPLANA T/ON 

Line of spreading; + arrows 

show relative directions 

of motion 

++rr Line of subduction; arrows 

on underthrusting plate 

Transform fault; arrows show 

relative directions of motion 

~ 

Mot ion of plates relative to 

North America 

FIGURE 5.-Mesozoic and Cenozoic plate relations in the western 

Pacific Ocean (modified from Atwater, 1970, fig. 18). North American plate is held fixed, and large arrows show motion relative to it. 

Captions give time in millions of years before present. Pacific-North 

American motion assumed constant at 6 cm/yr in a horizontal 

direction for.last 20 m.y., 4 cm/yr taken up by near-coast faults and 2 

cm/yr by inland faults. WH = Whitehorse; S = Seattle; SF = San 

Francisco; LA = Los Angeles; MZ = Mazatlan. 

from central and northern California, and provides the 

most satisfactory means of reconciling the differing 

amounts of total offset in northern and southern 

California. Moreover, the Late Cretaceous and 

Paleocene period of right-lateral slip indicated by onshore geologic evidence in central and northern 

California corresponds well in type, location and timing 

of displacement to Atwater's model involving Kula 

plate motion, and supports the contention that the San 

Andreas is part of a complex transform fault system 

(Hill, 1971; Dickinson and others, 1972; Hill, 1974). 

The location of a proto-San Andreas fault is problematical. If it was a transform fault forming the 

boundary between the Kula and North America plates, 

its orientation probably differed from that of the present 

San Andrea!' system, as the directions of movement of 

the Kula and Pacific plates with respect to the North 

American plate are unlikely to have been identical. 

Atwater (1970) shows the directions of movement to be 

slightly different (fig. 5). In addition, sedimentation a.nd 

deformation in Eocene and later time have been extensive in this region, undoubtedly obscuring the presence 

of an older fault and older offsets. 

It seems probable that an ancestral San Andreas fault 

zone was located somewhere to the west of the present 

trace of the fault in central California. Unusual and 

remarkably similar sequences of Jurassic gabbros 

(Ross, 1970) overlain by Eocene to early Miocene 

sedimentary rocks are present east of the fault near 

Eagle Rest Peak in the San Emigdio Range and west of 

the fault near San Juan Bautista. Should these sequences prove to be correlative, as suggested by Huffman (1972a), Clarke (1973, p. 231-232) and Clarke and 

Nilsen (1973, p. 362), it would indicate that the Gabilan 

and San Emigdio basement terranes originally constituted a single block which was not offset until after 

early Miocene· time. This would limit ~isplacement 

along the present trace of the fault in central California 

to post-early Miocene time and a maximum distance of 

about 200 miles (320 km),. thus indicating that the proposed proto-San Andreas fault in this region did not 

coincide with the present San Andreas fault. 

Subsequent study may establish that proto-San Andreas fault displacement is represented in part by Late 

Cretaceous and early Tertiary offset along the RelizRinconada fault of Dibblee (1972a), as suggested by 

Kistler and others (1973); this fault parallels the east 

flank of the Santa Lucia Range, eventually coinciding 

with the Nacimiento fault southward to the Big Pine 

fault (figs. 1 and 2). However, no evidence for preMiocene right-lateral slip along this fault has been presented (Dibblee, 1972a), and the proto-San Andreas 

fault may be one of several other buried faults in the 

area between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia Ranges. In 

the San Francisco Bay region, it may be partly represented by the Pilarcitos fault, which separates Franciscan and granitic basement rocks and was probably an 

active trace of the San Andreas system before the 

Pliocene (Dibblee, 1966b, p. 383). To the s·outh, it probably bypasses present-day southern California. It may 

extend beneath the Transverse Ranges, where it cannot 

be recognized because of subsequent deformation and 

burial, and thence southward into the continental bor-· 

derland of southern and Baja California. 

In summary, we think it probable that two episodes of 

right-lateral strike-slip faulting have occurred in the 

California continental margin since the emplacement 

of Mesozoic basement rocks. During latest Cretaceous 

and Paleocene time, right-lateral slip of 135 to 260 

'miles (220-420 km) occurred along a proto-San Andreas 

fault which probably paralleled, but did not coincide 

with the present San Andreas fault in central and 

northern California; this ancestral fault extended 

southward into the southern California borderland. 

Displacement along the proto-San Andreas fault proba-
36 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

bly ceased during Paleocene or earliest Eocene time, 

possibly with a tectonic change from right-lateral faulting to subduction along the continental margin. During 

the remainder ofEocene time, the Salinian block west of 

the proto-San Andreas fault jutted out perhaps 150 

miles (240 km) or more from the continental margin as a 

long peninsula or island chain, forming a continental 

border land with deep marine basins to the east and west 

(fig. 5). Subduction may have continued west of this 

borderland until right-lateral displacement recommenced along the present San Andreas fault some time 

after the early Miocene (Atwater, 1970). 

EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 

INTRODUCTION 

Our paleogeographic synthesis of early Tertiary 

California differs from earlier syntheses by Reed (1933) 

and Reed and Hollister (1936) in that we have incorporated the following concepts: (1) right-lateral displacements that total about 190--200 miles (305--320 km) 

along the San Andreas fault during the past 20 million 

years, offsetting lower Tertiary strata that were originally contiguous; (2) significant displacements along 

other lateral faults, including the Reliz-Rinconanda 

fault (Dibblee, 1972a), the Garlock fault (Smith, 1962), 

the Big Pine and other faults in the Transverse Ranges 

(Hill and Dibblee, 1953), the San Gabriel fault (Crowell, 

1962), and offshore faults in the southern California 

borderland area (Yeats, 1968; Yeats and others, 1974; 

Howell and others, 1974); (3) right-lateral displacements that totalled 135--260 miles (220--420 km) along a 

proto-San Andreas fault before or during Paleocene 

time, resulting in the emplacement of a long borderland 

underlain by continental crust to the west of the continental margin (fig. 6); and (4) many thick sequences of 

sandstone and conglomerate, previously considered to 

be of shallow marine origin, appear on the basis of 

modern sedimentologic and paleontologic criteria to be 

submarine fan deposits that accumulated at bathyal or 

greater depths. 

Our reconstruction of the paleogeography is drawn 

largely from the previously cited published reports and 

unpublished theses, and we are indebted to these authors. Some units and areas have been thoroughly 

studied, whereas others have been examined only in 

reconnaissance. We encourage future studies to test and 

refine our synthesis, especially those aimed at a better 

understanding of the sedimentary processes and environments, sediment dispersal patterns, location of 

source areas, and those directed toward unraveling the 

complicated post-Eocene tectonic history of western 

California. 

The paleogeography of California changed considerably during early Tertiary time. In the early Paleocene, 

the inferred proto-San Andreas fault was probably active; during at least late Paleocene to late Eocene time, 

movement along it had ceased. Within the borderland 

region, basins developed at different times and underwent different histories of development. Some basins 

persisted throughout the early Tertiary, whereas others 

lasted for only relatively short periods of time. 

Sedimentation on deep-sea fans was probably rapid, 

and many fans were relatively short lived. Source areas 

also changed abruptly, indicating that major tectonic 

uplift occurred contemporaneously with sedimentation 

in adjoining ·basins. All of these features are characteristic of a transform plate boundary, and one of our 

purposes in this paper is to demonstrate the types and 

patterns of tectonism and sedimentation characteristic 

of plate boundaries marked by transform faults. These 

tectonic and sedimentary patterns can also be studied in 

the later history of the San Andreas fault region and in 

some of the modern basins and uplifted areas along the 

fault. 

Despite the rapid rate of tectonic change during the 

early Tertiary along the transform boundary, we have 

compiled a generalized paleogeographic map of early 

Tertiary California that groups Paleocene and Eocene 

elements together (fig. 7). The map, which incorporates 

palinspastic restorations of lateral movements along 

the San Andreas and other post-Eocene faults, is thus a 

composite of all or most of the major paleogeographic 

elements present in early Tertiary California. It may 

. not be fully correct in all the details, but we feel that it 

presents a reasonably ~ccurate assembly of the 

paleogeographic elements based on the many published 

and unpublished studies summarized earlier. From the 

descriptions of these paleogeographic elements that follow, the reader will be able to place each element in its 

proper time framework within the early Tertiary. 

SOURCE AREAS 

The major source areas for the lower Tertiary sediments were underlain by (1) granitic rocks, (2) various 

metamorphic rocks that included granitic gneisses, 

schists, quartzites, and metavolcanic rocks, and (3) felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks. In some areas, erosion of older sedimentary rocks, including sandstones, 

conglomerates, shales, mudstones, siltstones, and 

cherts provided sediment. Some of the volcanic and 

metamorphic detritus was derived from erosion of 

. Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks; in fact, resistant 

and well-rounded pebbles and cobbles of chert, quartzite, and volcanic rocks may have been derived from 

several earlier cycles of erosion and sedimentation, and 

thus represent recycled clastic detritus. 

The source areas were located both westward in the 

Salinian block and eastward in the Sierra Nevada, 
EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 37 

a. Middle and late Mesozoic EX PLAN AT I 0 N 

FR. 

Franciscan rocks 

GVS 

Great Valley sequence 

SN 

Sierra Nevada 

GV 

Great Valley 

SB 

Salinian block 

P-SAF 

Proto-San Andreas fault 

•• • • Subduction zone 

Teeth on upper pia te,· queried where not 

known to have been active or possibly 

· incorrectly located 

Western ~ "' \ ""' " \ \ edge of conti nenta I crust 

locally. expressed as a continental slope 

Upland ~ source area Ocean floor 

Direct ions of sediment transport 

Areas of thick sedimentation 

Direction of right-lateral 

slip along proto-San Andreas fault 

FIGURE G.-Diagrammatic sketch showing the early Tertiary tectonic development of central California, formation of the continental borderland, and influence of the proto-San Andreas fault. 

Great Basin, eastern Transverse Ranges, Mojave Desert, Peninsular Ranges, and Salton Trough provinces, 

as well as the So no ran Desert region of northern Mexico 

(fig. 1). The source rocks in the western and eastern 

source areas were generally similar; as a result, almost 

all of the lower Tertiary sandstones in California are 

arkosic in composition and variations are relatively 

minor. Where paleogeographic, paleocurrent, and 

stratigraphic data are ambiguous, it may be impossible 

to distinguish those sandstones derived from eastern 

source areas from those derived from western source 

areas. The distinction may be equally difficult for conglomeratic strata, because the almost ubiquitous appearance of granitic, v·olcanic, and quartzitic clasts in so 

many lower Tertiary conglomerates may prevent the 

distinction of eastern from western source areas. Similarly, the mineralogy of various shale, mudstone, and 

claystone units may not permit distinction of source 

areas based on our present knowledge of what the 

source areas were like. 

In some lower Tertiary deposits of central California, 

source areas located to the east have been inferred on 

the basis of the mineralogy of quartz-rich, anauxitic 

sandstones and the presence of andalusite and stauro-
38 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

___.,.. ~ ........-

~ __.... 

-----~ ___.,.., 

__.... 

-- ,....,....... 

_....... ___.,.. 

~ ___.,.., 

........-~ 

PACIFIC -- OCEAN -· . - -

0 

I 

0 

I 

50 

N 

50 

I 

100 MILES I 

100 KILOMETRES 

PACIFIC 

OCEAN 

FAULT 

TRACE) 

.// 

FIGURE 7 .-Generalized paleogeographic map of early Tertiary California, based on reversal of 190 miles (305 km) of post-Eocene rightlateral offset along the present San Andreas fault. The prominent paleogeographic features of both Paleocene and Eocene age are shown 

on the map; paleogeographic changes between the early Paleocene, when the proto-San Andreas fault may have been active, and the end 

of the Eocene are not shown. The present locations of several cities and the Garlock fault are included for orientation purposes. Abbreviations: SAC-Sacramento; SF-San Francisco; BAK-Bakersfield; MON-Monterey; LA-Los Angeles; SD-San Diego. 
EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 39 

lite in the heavy mineral assemblages. These inferences 

may prove to be valid, but not enough detailed work has 

been completed yet in central California to clearly demonstrate it. In southern California, the presence of 

Poway-type clasts has been used to demonstrate an 

eastern source area for many lower Tertiary deposits. 

Franciscan rocks constituted an additional minor 

source that locally supplied detritus at various times in 

the northern Coast Ranges (Middle Mountain and Rice 

Valley areas and possibly within the ucoastal belt" part 

of the Franciscan assemblage), in the central Coast 

Ranges (Mount Diablo, Orestimba, Tesla, Vallecitos, 

and San Jose areas), and in the western Transverse 

Ranges (western Santa Ynez Mountains north of the 

Santa Ynez fault). In these areas, Franciscan sources 

have been clearly demonstrated; in other areas, Franciscan sources have been suggested on the basis of 

minor amounts of glaucophane in heavy mineral assemblages and cherts of Franciscan affinity in conglomerate clast assemblages. 

In summary, a great deal of additional mineralogic 

and petrographic work will be required before we can 

easily distinguish sediments derived from the Salinian 

block, the Sierra Nevada and other eastern source 

areas, and the Franciscan. Detailed data are needed on 

the composition of conglomerate clasts, feldspars and 

lithic fragments in the arkosic sandstones, clay minerals, and heavy mineral suites. 

EASTERN NONMARINE DEPOSITS 

The easternmost lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks 

throughout California generally consist of nonmarine 

facies, indicating the presence of a continental upland 

area to the east. The coarseness, volume, and widespread distribution of conglomerate, sandstone, and 

local breccia derived from this terrane suggest that it 

had considerable relief and occupied a large area. Sediment transport was principally toward the west and 

southwest; eastern source areas have been determined 

or inferred for fluvial deposits in the northern Sacramento Valley (Butte Gravel Member of the Sutter 

Formation), northern Sierra Nevada (prevolcanic 

gravels and nonmarine parts of the lone Formation 

near and south of Oroville), southern Sierra Nevada 

and eastern San Joaquin Valley (Walker Formation), 

San Emigdio and western Tehachapi Mountains 

(Tecuya Formation), eastern Santa Monica Mountains, 

Santa Ana Mountains and San Joaquin Hills (Silverado 

and Santiago Formations), central Peninsular Ranges 

(Santa Rosa, Ballenas, and Jacumba River gravels of 

Minch, 1970), western flank of the Peninsular Ranges 

(regressive Stadium Conglomerate), and northern Baja 

California (La Pumorosa-Las Palmas, Campo Nacional, 

and El Rodeo River gravels of Minch, 1970). 

The lower Tertiary fluvial deposits in most areas rest 

unconformably on Upper Cretaceous marine strata or 

Mesozoic granitic and metamorphic basement rocks. 

The erosional surface has variable relief, ranging from 

high in 'some areas where it is topographically very 

irregular and the thickness of the overlying flu vial deposits changes abruptly, to low in othe_! areas where 

fluvial deposits of uniform thickness are ~i~esP.read. In 

the northern Sierra Nevada, Peninsular Ranges, and 

northern Baja California, fluvial gravels crop out in 

long sinuous patterns that represent the channels of 

major westward-flowing rivers cut into the underlying 

basement rocks. 

The eastern continental upland to the east that was 

the principal source of sediments varied in relief, morphology, and composition both areally and through 

time. Tropical climates and deep lateritic weathering 

are suggested during early and middle Eocene time by ...1 

the presence of quartzose, anauxitic sandstone lacking 

in feldspar and the scarcity of clasts of granitic rock in 

the lone Formation and prevolcanic gravels of the 

northern Sierra Nevada, Mount Diablo and adjacent 

Great Valley area, Santa Monica Mountains, Santa 

Ana Mountains, and western and central Peninsular 

Ranges. Pisolitic claystones associated with these deposits in these areas are probably residual accumulations on the deeply weathered surfaces. The conglomerate clasts in these strata are primarily types resistant to 

chemical weathering: in northern areas they are 

primarily quartz, chert, quartzite, and low-grade 

metamorphic rock; in the Peninsular Ranges, quartzite, 

metavolcanic and metasedimentary rock, and Powaytype rhyolite and dacite clasts; and in northern Baja 

California, quartzite, chert, argillite, and gneiss. 

In contrast, the younger nonmarine deposits of late 

Eocene and Oligocene age that flank the continental 

upland consist of arkosic and lithic sandstones that do 

not contain anauxite, and conglomerates with abundant clasts of granitic rock as large as boulder size. 

These deposits probably represent broad alluvial fan 

complexes that fringed coastlines, rather than individual river channel deposits. They indicate that relief 

was probably higher, erosion more rapid, and physical 

weathering more dominant than chemical weathering, 

resulting in little, if any, development of laterites. 

The Goler and Witnet Formations of the southern 

Tehachapi and El Paso Mountains are probably alluvial 

fans deposited in intramontane basins located within 

the eastern continental upland area. Dibblee (1967) 

suggested that these units were deposited in a long, 

continuous, linear lowland that separated upland areas 

to the north and south. The coarsenes8, thickness, and 

nature of the deposits suggests deposition in a faultbounded basin in which sedimentation occurred contemporaneously with tectonic uplift. Detritus was derived primarily from the south edge of the basin, located 

along the northern edge of the Mojave Desert region. 

The orientation of the linear lowland parallel to the 
40 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

present trend of the Garlock fault suggests that a zone of 

structural weakness and possible precursor to the modern Garlock fault may have been present in the area in 

the early Tertiary. These data suggest that the Garlock 

fault zone may have been a possible transform fault 

boundary even earlier than suggested by Davis and 

Burchfiel (1973), and that movement along it may have 

been initiated during the early Tertiary. The deposits of 

other early Tertiary intramontane basins which may 

have been present within the eastern source areas have 

not been preserved. 

Most of the lower Tertiary fluvial deposits are 

inferred or known to be primarily Eocene rather than 

Paleocene. Paleocene nonmarine strata have been 

reported only from the Las Llajas-Simi Hills-Santa 

Susanna Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, Santa 

Ana Mountains-San Joaquin Hills, La Panza Range, 

and possibly the Tehachapi and El Paso Mountains 

areas. The lack of recognized Paleocene nonmarine 

strata may reflect the general paucity of fossil remains 

in the early Tertiary nonmarine strata or erosion of 

Paleocene deposits prior to deposition of the extensive 

Eocene strata of western California. However, it probably also reflects profound paleogeographic changes in 

the eastern source region and surrounding areas in 

Paleocene and. Eocene time. Paleocene marine strata to 

the west are generally fine grained, except for those 

conglomerate and sandstone units derived from western source areas. Thus, Paleocene time was probably 

characterized primarily by low relief and little deposition adjacent to or within the eastern source areas; 

active tectonism and sedimentation was taking place 

primarily to the west in the continental borderland 

area. Major uplift of the eastern source areas during 

Eocene and Oligocene time resulted in westward transport and deposition of large volumes of coarse-grained 

nonmarine sediment. 

SHALLOW MARINE SHELF DEPOSITS 

Nonmarine strata in the east grade laterally westward into shallow-marine sedimentary strata that appear to have been mostly deposited along a narrow 

northwest-southeast trending continental shelf west of 

the continental landmass. The shelf averaged 10-50 

miles (16-80 km) in width, and shelf deposits range 

from about 500 to 4,000 ft (150-1,200 m) in thickness. 

The continental shelf east of the proto-San Andreas 

fault appears to have been relatively straight, continuous, and unbroken by faulting throughout most of its 

extent (north of the Tehachapi Mountains and south of 

the Santa Monica Mouptains), in sharp contrast to the 

disrupted borderland area west of the proto-San Andreas fault (fig. 7). These shallow marine shelf deposits 

are preserved along the western flank of the northern 

and central Sierra Nevada CDry Creek" and lone Formations), in klippen that rest on Franciscan rocks in the 

Clear Lake, Rice Valley, Middle Mountain, and Round 

Valley areas of the northern Coast Ranges, in subsurface beneath the Sacramento Valley and in the Mount 

Diablo area (Martinez, Meganos, Capay, and Domengine Formations), in subsurface beneath the western 

San Joaquin Valley and in adjacent outcrops of the 

Coast Ranges (Laguna Seca, Tesla, Y okut, A venal, and 

Domengine Formations), in subsurface beneath the 

eastern San Joaquin Valley (Famosa sand), in the western Tehachapi and San Emigdio Mountains (shallow 

marine facies of the Tejon Formation), in the Pine 

Mountain and Piru Creek areas, in some of the strata in 

the Gold Creek, Las Llajas Canyon, Simi Hills, Santa 

Susanna Mountains, and Santa Monica Mountains 

areas, in the Santa Ana Mount~ins and San Joaquin 

Hills areas (marine strata of the Silverado and Santiago 

Formations), in the coastal region west of the Peninsular Ranges and southward into Baja California (La Jolla 

and Poway Groups), and in the Orocopia Mountains 

(Maniobra Formation). 

In the San Joaquin Valley area the shelf was probably 

15 to 40 miles (24-64 km) wide, based on the present 

distribution of shallow and deep marine strata. In the 

northern San Joaquin Valley, the shelf had a westward 

extension formed by the Stockton arch, an east-west 

trending structural high bounded on the north by the 

Stockton fault (figs. 2, 7). During much of Paleocene and 

Eocene time, this high may have formed an emergent or 

shallow marine barrier which extended at least as far 

west as the Tesla area and divided the Great Valley into 

separate San Joaquin and Sacramento basins (Hackel, 

1966). This arch may have resulted from buckling of the 

pre-Eocene continental margin due to compression associated with emplace~ent of the borderland by lateral 

movements along the proto-San Andreas fault. 

North ofthe Stockton arch in the Sacramento Valley, 

the Martinez, Meganos, Capay, and Domengine Formations are largely shallow-marine deposits thought to 

represent shelf sedimentation. Remnants of similar deposits are also found in klippen to the west in the Clear 

Lake, Rice Valley, Middle Mountain and Round Valley 

areas. The width and geometry of the shelf in this region 

is not known because the boundary between shallow 

and deep-marine facies is not preserved in the northern 

Coast Ranges. However, the present distribution of 

shallow-marine strata from the Sierran foothills westward to the southwestern margin of the valley indicates 

that the shelf was at least 50 miles (80 km) wide in this 

region. Franciscan detritus is found in the shallow 

marine Eocene rocks in klippen at Rice Valley and 

Round Valley, indicating that the Franciscan rocks 

were exposed at least locally during the Paleogene in 

the northern Coast Ranges west of the Sacramento 

Valley. 
EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 41 

In the coastal region south of Los Angeles, the Eocene 

continental shelf apparently extended southward for 

more than 100 miles (160 km) into western Baja 

California (fig. 7). The shelf in this area was probably 

10-40 miles (16-64 km) wide, but could have been wider 

to the south. The shelf extended northward in middle 

Eocene time, including deposits of the Las Llajas 

Canyon, Simi Hills, Santa Susanna Mountains, and 

Santa Monica Mountains areas. No evidence exists from 

these deposits for derivation of sediments from western 

source areas underlain by Franciscan-type rocks. 

In the Sacramento Valley area, the continental shelf 

was cut by the Capay and Markley gorges, which appear 

to have been submarine canyons through which shelf 

sediments were transported southward and westward 

into deeper environments. No such gorges or canyons 

have been recognized as cutting the shelves in the San 

Joaquin Valley area or the coastal area south of Los 

Angeles. However, one has been suggested to have been 

present in the southern area, through which sediments 

were transported westward to Poway fan (fig. 7; Yeats 

and others, 1974). 

Marine transgressions across the eastern shelf are 

indicated in many areas by sedimentary sequences 

consisting of basal conglomerates overlain by fossiliferous sandstones, siltstones, and shales. Eastward transgressions are indicated in the San Emigdio and western 

Tehachapi Mountains area from early to late Eocene, in 

the Piru Creek area from late Paleocene to late Eocene, 

in the Santa Ana Mountains and SanJoaquin Hills area 

from middle to late Eocene and in the coastal area west 

of the Peninsular Ranges from early to late Eocene. 

Detailed studies in the subsurface of the eastern Great 

Valley area and in the Las Llajas Canyon, Simi Hills 

and Santa Monica Mountains areas may reveal that 

broadly transgressive conditions also existed in those 

areas from late Paleocene to .Late Eocene time. 

The erosional surface over which marine transgressions occurred was one of great relief in many places. As 

much as 1,000 ft (300m) of relief is indicated at the base 

of the lone Formation. In the San Emigdio and Orocopia 

Mountains areas, the Tejon and Maniobra Formations 

contain very coarse, thick boulder beds which were 

apparently deposited along steep, irregular shorelines. 

In contrast, the shelf region extending from the Santa 

Ana Mountains and San Joaquin Hills areas south 

along the western edge of the Peninsular Ranges to San 

Diego was probably characterized by a stable shelf 

having relatively little relief (Yerkes and others, 1965; 

Peterson and Nordstrom, 1970). 

A widespread late Eocene to Oligocene regression in 

which nonmarine deposition prograded westward 

across the shelf occurred in the western Tehachapi and 

San Emigdio Mountains and adjacent San Joaquin Valley, in the Transverse Ranges and in the Santa Ana 

Mountains, and along the western edge of the Peninsular Ranges areas. Regressive conditions also characterized parts of the eastern San Joaquin and northern 

and eastern Sacramento basins (Hackel, 1966). Uplift of 

the eastern continental landmass at the close of Eocene 

time was evidently regional in extent, and in some 

areas was accompanied-by extensive deformation. 

Shallow marine sedimentary strata are also present 

along the western margin of the San Joaquin Valley, 

principally in the Diablo Range (Laguna Seca and Tesla 

Formations, and Yokut, A venal, and Domengine Sandstones). These strata range in age from Paleocene to 

Eocene in the northern Diablo Range, but elsewhere 

they are mostly middle Eocene. These deposits were 

derived in part from source areas located wit}:lin the 

Diablo Range and also from the borderland area to the 

west. In the northern Diablo Range, the Tesla Formation contains mineralogic evidence for derivation from 

both eastern and western sources; albite and glaucophane indicate derivation from Franciscan rocks of. 

the northern Diablo Range (Allen, 1941; Morris, 1962). 

Significant amounts of glaucophane, commonly accompanied by granules and pebbles of radiolarian chert, are 

also present in the Domengine Sandstone.throughout 

the Diablo Range; glaucophane also is found in trace 

amounts in other units (White, 1940; Regan, 1943; Morris, 1962). Regan (1943) concluded on the basis of both 

· mineralogic and lithofacies evidence that the Yokut 

Sandstone of the Vallecitos area had a granitic source to 

the west. Serpentine is locally abundar1t in the A venal 

Sandstone of the southern Diablo Range (Acebedo 

Sandstone of Herrera, 1951); this mineral is abundant 

in nearby bedrock outcrops, and its presence in sediments thought to have been deposited in near-shore 

environments suggests a local derivation from within 

the southern Diablo Range. 

The long history of brackish water and shallow 

marine deposition, and evidence of mixed eastern and 

western source areas in the northern Diablo Range, 

suggest that shelf sedimentation during the early Tertiary extended completely across the Great Valley in 

the vicinity of the Stockton arch and northern Diablo 

Range. Shallow-marine strata farther south in the Diablo Range were probably deposited flanking emergent 

areas located both within the present Diablo Range 

area and in the border land area west of the proto-San 

Andreas fault. The-sources of these deposits were probably mostly the older sedimentary rocks and granitic 

basement rocks of the Salinian block; however, Franciscan rocks; which underlay the ocean basin area east of 

the proto-San Andreas fault, were a distinctive secondary source. Tecton~c ·instability during the Eocene is 

indicated locally in this region by unconformities at the 

base of the A venal and Domengine Sandstones. The 

Stockton arch, central and western San Joaquin Valley, 
42 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

and much of the Sacramento Valley region finally subsided in late Eocene time, as indicated by widespread 

deposition of shales of the Kreyenhagen Formation in a 

deeper marine environment. 

CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND OCEAN FLOOR DEPOSITS 

INTRODUCTION 

A prominent west-facing submarine slope (the continental slope) formed the western edge of the shelf, and 

the floor of the Pacific Ocean extended westward from 

the base of this slope (fig. 7). In northern California, a 

deep-sea trench and subduction zone may have been 

located west of the continental shelf and slope. In central California north of the San Emigdio Mountains, a 

continental borderland was located west of the continental shelf and slope and a strip of ocean floor. In 

southern California between the San Emigdio Mountains and Los Angeles, the proto-San. Andreas fault 

probably transected the continental margin, producing 

an area characterized by irregular borderland geography. Locally within this area, a west-facing continental slope and ocean floor was located west of a narrow 

shelf area; in other parts of this area, upland parts of the 

borderland were contiguous with the Mojave Desert 

upland area, without an intervening continental shelf 

and slope and ocean floor .. South of Los Angeles, the 

continental slope and ocean floor were located west of 

the shelf with no evidence for the presence of a borderland. A deep-sea trench or subduction zone may have 

been located west of the borderland area of central and 

southern California, although conclusive evidence has 

not been produced; it may possibly have extended 

further south, offshore from the area in which the 

Poway fan was deposited (fig. 7). 

The continental slope and ocean floor strata comprise 

(1) a widespread thin blanket of fine-grained hemipelagic sediments (a mixture of terrigenous detritus 

and pelagic plankton tests), and (2) thick, areally restricted coarse-grained deep-sea fan deposits, derived 

from both the borderland to the west and the continental shelf to the east. The deep-sea fan and hemipelagic 

deposits are commonly coeval and interfinger laterally 

with one another. 

HEMIPELAGIC DEPOSITS 

The hemipelagic deposits consist of mudstones, 

shales, and siltstones with some thinly interbedded 

turbidite sandstones, deposited at middle bathyal to 

abyssal depths. The deposits are widespread but generally thin because of the slow rate of sedimentation. They 

are commonly indistinguishable from the fine-grained 

interchannel and distal deposits of deep-sea fans with 

which they interfinger. No contourites (deposits of bottom currents2 ) have been recognized in these rocks, but 

some may be present. Deposition by turbid-layer transport (slowly moving low-density turbidity currents that 

transport fine-grained sediments to deep water) may 

have been important, as this process has been observed 

in the modern continental borderland of southern 

California and is responsible for the deposition of similar deposits (Moore, 1969, p. 83). The planktonic 

foraminiferal faunas in these hemipelagic deposits, including those of the region of central California that 

was bounded on the west by the borderland, indicate 

free access to the open ocean. 

The hemipelagic continental slope and ocean floor 

deposits are present in subsurface throughout much of 

the western Great Valley and in outcrops in the Coast 

Ranges, San Emigdio Mountains, western Santa Y nez 

Mountains, Channel Islands, San Nicolas Island, and 

possibly along the western flank of the Peninsular 

Ranges. The transitions from shelf to slope to ocean floor 

deposition are apparent in the Tejon Formation of the 

western San Emigdio Mountains (fig. 2), where shallow-marine sandstones of the late Eocene Metralla 

Sandstone Member grade laterally westward into 

bathyal and abyssal hemipelagic shales and mudstones 

of the Liveoak Shale Member (Nilsen, 1973c). The westernmost hemipelagic shales overlie mafic and 

ultramafic basement rocks which may represent 

Mesozoic oceanic crust. The continental slope and ocean 

floor facies represented by the Liveoa,k Shale Member in 

the San Emigdio Mountains can be traced northwestward as the Kreyenhagen Formation for almost 200 

miles (320 km) in well sections and outcrops along the 

west side of the San Joaquin Valley. Toward the north 

the Kreyenhagen becomes siliceous, suggesting deposition in very deep silica-rich waters. Older, Ynezian to 

Penutian slope and ocean basin deposits may be represented in cental California by hemipelagic shales and 

mudstones in the Lodo Formation which crops out in the 

northern Temblor and eastern Diablo Ranges. 

In the Sacramento Valley area, the Nortonville Shale 

Member of the Kreyenhagen Formation consists mostly 

of hemipelagic deposits, although these were deposited 

at neritic depths and probably represent shelf muds. 

Fine-grained continental slope and deep ocean basin 

·deposits have not been recognized in the Sacramento 

Valley area except for probably the Sidney Shale 

Member of the Kreyenhagen Formation. In the northern Coast Ranges, parts of the ncoastal belt" Franciscan 

rocks, which probably represent trench-fill deposits, 

may represent slope and deep ocean hemipelagic deposits. West of the Stockton arch-northern Diablo 

Range area, hemipelagic sediments deposited at conti2Bottom currents are traction currents that flow because of the potential energy in a water 

mass, and not because of sediment load (Piper, 1970). 
EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 43 

nental slope depths are represented by unnamed siliceous shale of Ynezian age in the San Leandro Hills 

area; mudstone of Paleocene and early(?) Eocene age 

southwest and southeast of San Jose; the upper 

Ulatisian and Narizian Nortonville Shale Member of 

the Kreyenhagen Formation; the late N arizian Sidney 

Shale Member of the Kreyenhagen Formation; and 

mudstone of the Bolado Park Formation and siliceous 

shales and mudstones of the Los Muertos Creek Formation of the Bolado Park area (fig. 2). These shales are 

locally phosphatic (Dickert, 1966). 

Lower Tertiary hemipelagic shales and mudstones 

are not abundant in southern· California south of the 

Santa Ynez basin; however, our paleogeographic model 

suggests that they should have been deposited in the 

area of the present southern California borderland west 

of the Peninsular Ranges and west of Baja California 

(figs. 2, 7). Examples of such deposits may include the 

Pozo, Canada, and Cozy Dell Formations in the Channel 

Islands, and the Ardath Shale, which is evidently an 

offshore shale facies of the shallow marine deposits in 

the San Diego area. 

DEEP-SEA FANS DEPOSITED EAST OF THE BORDERLAND 

AND DERIVED FROM EASTERN SOURCE AREAS 

Deep-sea fans were deposited on the ocean floor west 

of the continental slope. In central California, these 

deposits were derived from both western sources in the 

borderland and Sierran sources to the east. Only those 

fans derived from eastern source areas and deposited 

east of the borderland are described in this section. Four 

fan deposits of this type have been identified, two to the 

north and two to the south of the borderland (fig. 7): (1) 

thick sandstones in the lower Tertiary ((coastal belt" 

Franciscan rocks, which were probably deposited as 

deep-sea fans in a trench; (2) the Markley Sandstone 

Member and other strata of the northern Diablo Range, 

southwestern Sacramento Valley, and San Jose areas; 

(3) the San Francisquito, Juncal, Matilija, and Sacate 

Formations of the Santa Ynez Mountains and adjacent 

areas; and (4) the Poway fan ofYeats (1968) and Yeats, 

Cole, Merschat, and Parsley (1974), inferred to have 

been deposited west of the Peninsular Ranges and to 

comprise deposits now located in the Channel Islands, 

Santa Monica Mountains, San Nicolas Island, and adjacent areas. The ((coastal belt" Franciscan rocks will be 

discussed in a later section under ((trench(?)" deposits. 

These fans were probably deposited at the base of the 

continental slope to form continental-rise prisms and 

may have been fed by large submarine canyons that 

funneled sediments westward and southward from the 

shelf areas into deeper water. Because they were deposited on the open ocean rather than in an enclosed 

borderland basin, these fans were probably larger and 

more nearly symmetrical than those in the borderland. 

Several deep-sea fans that were derived from Sierran 

sources may have been deposited on the ocean floor in 

central California in the· general vicinity of the northern Diablo Range. Sediments were probably transported westward and southwestward through the 

Capay (Princeton) and Markley gorges, which probably 

represent early Tertiary submarine canyons (fig. 7). 

Thick sequences of sandstones that probably represent 

submarine canyon and fan deposition are present in the 

Capay gorge area, Markley gorge and adjacent Mount 

Diablo and southwestern Sacramento Valley areas, and 

in the San Jose area. 

Redwine (1972; oral commun., February 1974) has 

shown the presence of submarine canyon..:fill deposits of 

ttCapay" age within Capay gorge and has inferred the 

presence of a deep-sea fan deposit at the mouth of the 

gorge. Sands of the Markley Sandstone Member of the 

Kreyenhagen Formation were probably transported 

westward through the Markley gorge and deposited as a 

deep-sea fan in the Mount Diablo and southwestern 

Sacramento Valley area; the Markley is present north 

of the Stockton arch and thickens abruptly west of the 

Midland fault, suggesting that fan growth was controlled by these features. The full extent of this fan to 

the west is not presently known, although it may possibly include parts of the thick sandstone sequences of the 

San Jose area described by Esser (1958), Mack (1959), 

Beaulieu (1970), McLaughlin (1973), and Carter (1970); 

however, these deposits most likely represent separate 

fans deposited at different times. 

The paleogeography and pattern of sedimentation 

represented by the thick lower Tertiary sections in the 

San Jose area cannot be easily reconstructed on the 

basis of available mineralogic, sedimentologic, and 

paleontologic data. These sequences may have been deposited as small, separate fans derived from either the 

Salinian block to the west or from the northern Diablo 

Range-Stockton arch area to the east. On the other 

hand, they may have been deposited as a single elongate 

fan in a relatively narrow northwest-trending basin 

with a northwestward axial slope located between the 

borderland area to the southwest and a possible 

emergent area to the northeast in the northern Diablo 

Range. This type of reconstruction would be reasonably 

consistent with the paleogeographic framework proposed by Wentworth (1966, 1968) for deposition of the 

German Rancho Formation of the Gualala area to the 

northwest across the San Andreas fault. However, the 

deposits of the San Jose area have variable ages, 

mineralogies, and paleocurrent directions, including 

some oriented toward the south; simple correlations of 

this sequence with those of the Gualala area are not 

convincing, and require a great deal of additional study 
44 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

of the lower Tertiary sequences in the San Jose area. At 

least some of these deposits, particularly those described by Beaulieu (1970) and Tieh (1973), suggest 

deep-sea fan deposition derived from eastern source 

areas. 

The Santa Ynez basin and adjacent areas could 

reasonably be part of the western borderland area, inasmuch as tectonic movements in the southern part of 

the borderland influenced deposition in the basin (fig. 

7). However, because the sediments were derived 

primarily from eastern source areas, were deposited as 

fans that extended westward and southwestward onto 

the open ocean floor, and were effectively deposited 

south of the true borderland area, we shall discuss the 

paleogeography of the deep-sea fans deposited in the 

Santa Ynez basin and adjacent areas in this section. 

Reconstr~ction of the early Tertiary paleogeography 

of the Santa Ynez basin and adjacent areas to the east 

and southeast is complicated by abundant post-Eocene 

lateral faulting and compressive folding that must be 

palinspastically restored to determine the original 

paleogeography. In order to delineate the middle 

Eocene paleogeography of southern California, Howell 

(1974) restored about 30 miles (48 km) of right-lateral 

displacement along the San Gabriel fault, 50 miles (80 

km) ofleft-lateral displacement along the Garlock fault, 

9 miles (14.5 km) ofleft-lateral displacement along the 

Big Pine and Santa Y nez faults, 56 miles (90 km) of 

left-lateral displacement along the Malibu Coast fault 

(an east-west-trending fault located along the southern 

edge of the Santa Monica Mountains and extending 

westward toward the Channel Islands), 88 miles (140 

km) of right-lateral displacement" along the east Santa 

Cruz Basin fault of Howell, Stuart, Platt, and Hill 

(197 4) (a northwest-trending fault located in the central 

part of the southern California borderland), and 10 

miles (16 km) of north-south crustal extension to unfold 

the Transverse Range. 

Restorations along these and other faults yield a late 

Paleocene paleogeography consisting of a relatively 

straight northwest-trending shoreline and narrow 

shelf, southwest of which submarine fans represented 

by thick Paleocene strata in the Piru Creek area and the 

San Francisquito Formation of the Elizabeth Lake 

Canyon, Valyermo, and Cajon Pass areas were deposited (Sage, 1973). Because these fan deposits rest 

mostly on granitic crust, they may have been deposited 

on the outer part of the continental shelf and continental slope, or on strongly down warped parts of the outer 

shelf. Sage (1973, fig. 100) indicates that the late 

Paleocene shoreline extended northwestward into the 

La Panza Range area, and that the deep marine 

hemipelagic deposits of the Anita Shale of the Santa 

Ynez basin were deposited far offshore and southwest of 

the limits of the deep-sea fan deposits. 

The restorations along the faults indicate that the 

Eocene Santa Ynez basin was irregularly shaped, extending northward into the Sierra Madre basin and 

eastward into the Piru Creek area. Within the basin, 

the Juncal, Matilija, and Sacate Formations have been 

interpreted as submarine fan deposits derived from 

source areas located primarily to the north and east 

(Stauffer, 1965; Weaver, 1969; Link, 1971, 1972; 

O'Brien, 1972; Van De Camp and others, 1974; Howell, 

197 4). The Eocene basin was bounded on the southeast, 

east, northeast, and northwest by upland areas; the 

deep-sea fans were derived from these upland areas and 

coalesced within the basin to form thick, irregularlyshaped fan deposits that extended far out onto the ocean 

floor to the southwest. During the middle Eocene, the 

Santa Ynez basin was bounded on the southeast by the 

northward extension of the continental shelf and slope 

that was present in the coastal area west of the Peninsular Ranges, Santa Ana Mountains, and San Joaquin 

Hills areas; the middle Eocene sequences of the Las 

Llajas Canyon, Simi Hills, Santa Susanna Mountains, 

and Santa Monica Mountains areas were deposited on 

this part of the continental shelf (D. G. Howell, written 

commun., May 1974). 

Thus, the paleogeography of the Santa Ynez basin 

area changed considerably during the early Tertiary. 

Tectonic activity in the borderland area northwest of 

the basin was probably the chief cause of these 

paleogeographic changes. The history of these 

paleogeographic changes in this complex area is not 

completely understood yet, particularly for the early 

Paleocene and early Eocene intervals. 

The Poway deep-sea fan and submarine cone of the 

southern California borderland is the fourth deposit to 

be considered in the category of deep-sea fans derived 

from eastern source areas and deposited east of or 

beyond the limits of the borderland. The Poway fan was 

reconstructed by Yeats, Cole, Merschat, and Parsley 

(1974) from scattered Eocene deposits that contain the 

distinctive Poway-type clast assemblage; the fan is 

thought to have radiated westward from a point source 

located near Lake Elsinore and to have been derived in 

part from an eastern source area underlain by Powaytype rocks and probably located in northern Sonora, 

Mexico (Minch, 1971; Merriam, 1972). However, Howell, Stuart, Platt and Hill (1974) consider the point 

source to be located further south in the San Diego area. 

Conglomerate and sandstone in the Santa Monica and 

Santa Ana Mountains areas are thought to represent 

the upper part of the Poway fan, whereas grain-flow and 

turbidite deposits of San Nicolas, Santa Rosa, Santa 

Cruz, and San Miguel Islands are thought to represent 

the middle and lower parts of the fan (Yeats, 1968, 1973; 

Yeats and others, 1970; Yeats and others, 1974; 

Merschat, 1968, 1971; Parsley, 1972; Cole, 1973). The 
EARLY TERTIARY PALEOGEOGRAPHY 45 

Poway fan was probably deposited on the ocean floor as 

a large, unrestricted open-ocean fan, and it was probably completely separated from the fans deposited in the 

Santa Ynez basin to the north. 

Yeats, Cole, Merschat, and Parsley (197 4) concluded 

that the Eocene Poway fan had been fragmented and 

distributed by later Miocene rifting within the modern 

southern California borderland area. Howell, Stuart, 

Platt, and Hill (1974), on the other hand, concluded that 

the Poway fan had been fragmented and distributed by 

right-lateral strike-slip faulting along the East Santa 

Cruz Basin fault system within the modern southern 

California borderland area. Both, however, accept the 

presence of the Poway fan in the area during middle and 

late Eocene time. 

CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND DEPOSITS 

We infer that the thick, coarse-grained, and areally 

restricted sequences of sandstone and conglomerate in 

the borderland represent deep-sea fan deposits. Thinner 

sequences of shale and mudstone associated with these 

deposits are inferred to represent deep-sea hemipelagic 

sediments laid down when and where fan growth was 

not active. Shallow marine and nonmarine deposits of 

lower Tertiary age are rare in the borderland. Paleocurrent analyses, stratigraphic studies, and mineralogic 

data indicate that the deep-sea fans were derived from· 

sources within the borderland rather than from eastern 

sources in the Sierra or Mojave areas. 

Large deep-marine borderland basins are suggested 

by extensive fan deposits in the Gualala area (Gualala 

basin of Wentworth, 1968), the Santa Cruz Mountains 

(La Honda basin of Cummings and others, 1962), the 

southern Santa Lucia, La Panza and Sierra Madre 

Ranges (Sierra Madre basin of Chipping, 1970a; 1972a), 

and the western Transverse Ranges (Santa Ynez basin 

of Stauffer, 1965, 1967). Because the Santa Ynez basin 

may have been located at the south end of the early 

Tertiary borderland area and the sediments deposited 

within it derived primarily from source areas located 

east of the borderland area, we have discussed it in an 

earlier section. 

Smaller borderland basins are suggested by localized 

outcrops of sandstone and conglomerate that resemble 

deep-sea fan deposits in the Point Reyes area, Point San 

Pedro area, Point Lobos area, and in the northern Santa 

Lucia Range. Some of these may not have been separate, individual basins but connected to or at the fringe 

of the larger basins. Thus, the Point Reyes deposits may 

possibly have been laid down along the southern edge of 

the Gualala basin, although relations between these 

sequences would be very difficult to prove; the Point San 

Pedro deposits may be related to those of the larger La 

Honda basin (as suggested by Chipping, 1972b) and the 

lower Tertiary sequences in the Patti way Ridge, Mount 

Pinos, and Pine Mountain areas were probably deposited in the eastern Sierra Madre and Santa Ynez 

basins, where they merge eastward and their sediments 

grade laterally into shallow-marine deposits. The relation of the Carmelo Formation at Point Lobos to the La 

Honda or northern Santa Lucia Range basins is uncertain. The lower Tertiary deposits of the Adelaida area, 

probably of shallow marine origin, may have been deposited .in the Sierra Madre basin and subsequently 

offset right-laterally from it along the Rinconada fault, 

as suggested by Schwade, Carlson, and O'Flynn (1958) 

and Dibblee (1972a). 

The borderland paleogeography was characterized 

primarily by deep restricted basins separated by upland 

source areas. Outcrops are not sufficient, particularly in 

the northern end of the borderland area which is now 

largely under the sea, to establish conclusively whether 

the upland areas were separate, detached islands or 

partly or wholly interconnected to form a long, irregularly shaped peninsula. It is doubtful that upland areas 

underlain by granitic rock existed north of the Gualala 

basin, inasmuch as seismic data reveal the absence of 

granitic crust north of Point Arena (Silver and others, 

1971). Planktonic foraminiferal faunas from the borderland deposits indicate access to the open ocean, suggesting that the basins were not enclosed by land areas. 

Paleocurrent and lithofacies data indicate that source 

areas were located southwest of the Gualala basin 

(Wentworth, 1966); southeast of the Point San Pedro 

deposits (Chipping, 1972b); south and possibly northwest of the La Honda basin (Nilsen and Simoni, 1973); 

east of the Point Lobos deposits (Nili-Esfahani, 1965); 

possibly southeast of the northern Santa Lucia Mountains deposits (Link, 1975); north, east, and south of the 

Sierra Madre basin sequence (Chipping, 1972a); north 

and northeast of the Pattiway Ridge deposits (Sage, 

1973); and north and east of the Santa Ynez basin 

sequence (Stauffer, 1967). 

A palinspastic reconstruction of central California 

made by unslipping the San Andreas fault 190 miles 

(305 km) to allow for post-early Miocene right-lateral 

displacement juxtaposes the following lower Tertiary 

sequences; (1) the German Rancho Formation of the 

Gualala area with the Cantua Sandstone Member of the 

Lodo Formation of the Vallecitos area and possibly the 

Tres Pinos Sandstone of the Bolado Park area; (2) the 

Locatelli Formation, Butano Sandstone, and Twobar 

Shale Member of the San Lorenzo Formation of the 

Santa Cruz Mountains area with the Lodo Formation, 

Point of Rocks Sandstone, and Wagonwheel Shale 

Member of the Kreyenhagen Formation of the northern 

Temblor Range; and (3) shales and siltstones of the San 

Juan Bautista area with the Liveoak Shale Member of 

the Tejon Formation and the San Emigdio Formation of 

the western San Emigdio Mountains. In addition, it is 
46 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

probable that the shoreline represented by the ~astward 

interfingering of the marine Tejon and San Emigdio 

Formations with the nonmarine Tecuya Formation in 

the western Tehachapi and San Emigdio Mountains 

extended southwestward across the San Andreas fault 

and is represented in the northern Santa Lucia Range 

by eastward interfingering of the Reliz Canyon and 

Church Creek Formations with the partly nonmarine 

Berry Formation. We believe that these sequences were 

contiguous at the time of deposition and were subsequently offset about 190 miles (305 km) by right-lateral 

slip along the San Andreas fault. 

Kirkpatrick (1958), Crowell (1962), and Dickinson, 

Cowan, and Schweickert (1972) have concluded that in 

southern California the Maniobra Formation of the 

Orocopia Mountains has been offset along the San Andreas and San Gabriel fault as much as 190 miles (310 

km) from lower and middle Eocene sandstones in the 

Mount Pinos-Pine Mountain areas. Paleocene strata in 

the Patti way Ridge area also appear to have been offset 

from similar strata in the Cajon Pass area; however, the 

amount of displacement is less (about 140 miles, 225 

km), suggesting that either the fault had another active 

strand in this region during its history or that the Cajon 

Pass sequence may itself lie within a sliver of the San 

Andreas fault. 

In the Gualala basin, the deep-sea fan of the German 

Rancho Formation apparently extended beyond the 

borderland onto the ocean floor to the east across the 

present trace of the San Andreas fault. Similarly, the 

fan of the Butano Sandstone in the La Honda basin 

extended eastward across the fault as the Point of Rocks 

Sandstone. The ocean floor east of the borderland thus 

received deep-sea fan sediments from both the borderland to the west and the continental landmass to the 

east. Submarine fan deposits may have also spilled out 

of the borderland onto the ocean floor to the west and, if 

present, into an offshore trench. 

Deep marine hemipelagic shales accumulated in 

areas that did not receive deep-sea fan sediments and on 

the fans when coarse-grained clastic sediments were 

not being deposited. These sediments make up the 

Locatelli and San Lorenzo Formations in the La Honda 

basin, Eocene shale in the San Juan Bautista area, 

Eocene shale in subsurface southeast of Point Reyes, 

some of the thick shale sequences in the Sierra Madre 

basin, and shales of the Juncal, Anita, Cozy Dell, and 

Gaviota Formations in the Santa Ynez basin. These 

shale units are locally siliceous and phosphatic (Dickert, 1966). 

The basins in the ·central part of the borderland area 

are unusual in that both submarine fan deposits, shallow marine, and nonmarine strata of approximately the 

same age are preserved. In the northern Santa Lucia 

Range basin, the lower part of the Eocene and Oligocene 

sequence consists of a shallow marine, transgressive 

, basal sandstone (Junipero Sandstone) overlain by a 

shale (Lucia Shale) deposited in quiet, offshore waters 

(Dickinson, 1965). The upper part of the sequence (The 

Rocks Sandstone and Church Creek Formation) contains sandstones indicative of offshore deposition. The 

Rocks Sandstone appears to represent submarine fan 

deposition (Link, 1975), and the Church Creek Formation was dep(;aited at outer shelf or slope depths (Brabb 

and others, 1971). The upper part of the sequence, which 

is probably regressive, may grade laterally eastward 

into the nonmarine Berry Formation, considered of 

Oligocene(?) age (Durham, 1974), but the lower part 

may possibly be late Eocene. 

Paleocene strata near the northern edge of the Sierra 

Madre basin have been interpreted by Chipping (1972a) 

and Sage (1973) as shallow marine and nonmarine deposits. The strata near Adelaida may represent similar 

facies, although nonmarine deposits have not been described. 

Thus, the central part of the borderland area, which 

adjoined the upland continental landmass area to the 

east, apparently did not subside to form very deep basins in which thick deep-sea fan sequences were deposited. To the north, in the La Honda basin, and to the 

south, in the main part of the Sierra Madre and in the 

Santa Ynez basins, thick deep-sea fan deposits accumulated. 

DEEP-SEA TRENCH DEPOSITS 

A number of writers have recently inferred the presence of a deep-sea trench west of California in the early 

Tertiary, and several have identified the trench deposits. Atwater's (1970) model for late Mesozoic and 

Cenozoic plate interactions along the west coast of 

North America suggests the presence along the boundary between the North American and Farallon plates of 

. a deep-sea trench and subduction zone during the early 

Tertiary (fig. 5). On the basis of lower Te:rtiary strata 

found in what was interpreted as the upper plate of a 

ufossil" underthrust or subduction zone, Berkland 

(1972) suggested that an early Tertiary deep-sea trench 

and subduction zone was present in northern California. On the basis of chaotically structured beds in lower 

Tertiary strata northwest of San Jose, and other data, 

Travers (1972) inferred the presence of an early Tertiary deep-sea trench west of central California. 

Raymond and Christensen (1971), Chipping (1971), 

O'Day and Kramer (1972), Berkland (1972), O'Day 

(1974), and Kleist (1974) have suggested or inferred 

that the ucoastal belt" Franciscan rocks were deposited 

largely as fill in a deep-sea trench in which active subduction was no longer occurring. 

Unfortunately, with the single exception of the 

((coastal belt" Franciscan rocks, little concrete evidence 

exists for the presence of the early Tertiary trench and 
SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE BORDERLAND DEEP-SEA FANS 47 

subduction zone. If deposited, trench fill would have 

accumulated west of the early Terti"ary borderland area 

of central California and west of the continental shelf, 

slope and ocean floor of the Poway fan area of southern 

California (fig. 7). Because these areas presently lie 

offshore and relatively little information is available 

about possible lower Tertiary deposits in these areas, 

we can only speculate that possibly a trench and subduction zone existed west of central and southern 

California to fit the cons.traints of Atwater's (1970) 

model; however, its existence remains unproven. The 

slump features and chaotic bedding in lower Tertiary 

strata of the San Jose area may represent slumping 

within one of the basins formed adjacent to the protoSan Andreas fault rather than penecontemporaneous 

deformation within a trench, as suggested by Travers 

(1972). 

The Hcoastal belt" Franciscan rocks and ~~fossil" subduction zone of Berkland (1972) provide good evidence 

for the existence of a trench in northern California. 

Berkland (1972) suggests that active subduction in the 

trench continued until at least the middle Paleocene; 

after subduction had ceased, the trench was filled with 

sediments. ~~coastal belt" sandstones and conglomerates are relatively unmetamorphosed and generally 

lack the presence of volcanic rocks, serpentine, chert, 

melange structure, and exotic blocks of high pressurelow temperature metamorphic rocks. The thick sandstone, shale, and conglomerate sequences were deposited by turbidity currents, grain flows, debris flows, 

slumping, and sliding; deep-sea fans may have grown 

outward down the axis of the trench. The source areas 

for these sediments are not known, but presumably they 

lay to the east or north. 

SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE BORDERLAND 

DEEP-SEA FANS 

The borderland deep-sea fan deposits consist mostly 

of thick irregularly bedded conglomerate, thickly 

bedded ungraded or poorly graded sandstone, more 

thinly bedded graded sandstone, and thin-bedded to 

massive hemipelagic mudstone, shale, and siltstone. 

These different strata grade laterally and vertically 

into one another and form the various facies of deep-sea 

fan deposits. The most common facies is the thickly 

bedded, ungraded to poorly graded sandstone, identified 

by various workers as proximal turbidites, fluxoturbidites, grain flow deposits, and submarine slide or slump 

deposits. 

Recent studies of the physiography, morphology, 

growth patterns, and sedimentology of modern deep-sea 

fans along the continental margin of western North 

America and particularly in the modern southern 

California borderland area have provided useful models 

for comparison with the early Tertiary borderland fans. 

The modern fans and their surrounding areas generally 

comprise: (1) a submarine canyon which acts as a conduit for the transport of sediment from shallow to deep 

marine areas; (2) an upper fan area cut by a large 

incised valley that extends from the submarine canyon 

out onto the fan surface, where it is flanked by levees; (3) 

a middle fan area characterized by a depositional bulge 

or suprafan that results from major sedimentation 

where the leveed upper fan valley divides downfan into 

meandering major channels; (4) a lower fan area where 

the middle fan channels divide further into many 

smaller, shallower braided distributary channels; and 

(5) a fan fringe area, where fine-grained sands and silts 

grade laterally outward into hemipelagic sediments of 

the ocean floor (Normark and Piper, 1969, 1972; Normark, 1970; Nelson and others, 1970; Haner, 1971; Nelson and Kulm, 1973; Nelson and Nilsen, 1974). 

The resulting modern fan deposits comprise two distinct facies, coarser grained and more thickly bedded 

channel deposits and finer grained and more thinly 

bedded interchannel deposits. Because the major 

sedimentation in the middle fan area is accompanied by 

the lateral migration of channels, the two facies overlap 

one another and the resulting deposits are laterally 

discontinuous. Furthermore, because turbidity currents, grain flows, and other transporting mechanisms 

rapidly lose velocity in the lower submarine canyon and 

upper fan area, the coarsest detritus is deposited in the 

submarine canyon and upper fan channel. Progressively finer grained sediments are transported to more 

distal parts of the fan, where fine sand and silt is deposited as laterally continuous thin turbidite beds. 

Thus, the proximal (upper and middle fan) deposits are 

generally coarser grained that the distal (lower fan) and 

fan fringe deposits. 

These studies of modern submarine fans also show 

that, in general, irregularly bedded conglomerates form 

in submarine canyons and upper fan channels; thickly 

bedded, poorly graded sandstones form in submarine 

canyons, upper fan, and upper suprafan channels; 

thinly bedded graded sandstones form in interchannel 

areas, the lower suprafan, lower fan channels, and fan 

fringe areas; and hemipelagic shales form on and 

beyond the fan fringe and on any part of the fan or 

canyon where coarse-grained terrigenous detritus is not 

being deposited. We believe that these general relationships also apply to the lower Tertiary deposits of this 

study. 

Of the coarse-grained sediments, the upper fan and 

middle fan channel deposits are most commonly preserved in the rock record, largely because more proximal submarine canyon deposits were of limited extent 

and are commonly removed by subsequent uplift and 

erosion of the basin margin. The early Tertiary borderland fans apparently had large, thick suprafans, where 
48 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

subaqueous sediment gravity flows, including grain 

flows, fluidized sediment flows, and turbidity currents 

deposited proximal turbidites in numerous large channels (Middleton and Hampton, 1973; Nelson and Kulm, 

1973; Nelson and Nilsen, 1974). Thinly bedded, finer 

grained interchannel and levee deposits resulted from 

overbank spilling of large sediment gravity flows. The 

basin slopes were probably relatively steep and submarine canyons poorly developed. The fans are small in 

size compared to many modern fans, and source areas in 

some cases were located on more than one side of the 

basin; as a result, the more distal, thin-bedded flyschlike deposits are generally poorly developed. As reconstructed, the Butano-Point of Rocks and German 

Rancho-Cantua fans overflowed the borderland basins 

onto the ocean floor to the east, where both the Point of 

Rocks and Cantua interfingered eastward with 

fine-grained hemipelagic sediments of the San Joaquin 

basin area. 

Many characteristic features of modern deep-sea fan 

deposits are present in the reconstructed early Tertiary 

Butano-Point of Rocks fan, including (1) a fan-shaped 

wedge of sediment that thins distally; (2) a radiating 

system of fan channels, indicated by the distribution of 

coarse-grained conglomerate and by paleoccurent patterns; (3) coarse-grained conglomerates in proximal 

depositional sites, thought to be upper fan channels; (4) 

common channeling of sandstones in the upper and 

middle fan areas; (5) abrupt vertical and lateral facies 

changes representing the shifting of channel, levee and 

interchannel deposits; (6) downfan fining and thinning 

of channel deposits; (7) Bouma ae sequences in strata 

thought to be proximal channel deposits, Bouma ae to 

abcde sequences in strata thought to be suprafan 

channel deposits, and Bouma abcde to cde sequences in 

strata thought to be distal channel deposits; (8) Bouma 

cde and de sequences in strata thought to be levee and 

interchannel deposits; and (9) bioturbation of finegrained sediments (Nilsen, 1970, 1971; Nilsen and 

·Simoni, 1973; Clarke, 1973; Nelson and Nilsen, 1974). 

The sedimentary structures and other features which 

characterize the lower Tertiary deep-sea fan deposits of 

the California continental margin are summarized in 

table 2. Similar deposits from other regions have been 

described by Walker (1970), Mutti and Ricci-Lucci 

(1972), Stanley and Unrug (1972), and Walker and 

Mutti (1973). 

The sandstones of the early Tertiary fan deposits are 

typically ungraded or have very poorly defined grading, 

delayed grading, or cccoarse-tail" grading; some beds 

show a reverse grading at the base. The coarse-grained 

sandstones and conglomerates have beds as much as 75 

ft (23 in) or more in thickness. The soles of many beds 

have load casts and large flute and groove casts; however, smooth, fiat soles may be even more common. 

Diffuse parallel lamination, dish structures, swirled 

lamination, and elutriation columns indicative of the 

upward escape of fluid are common. Large mudstone 

and siltstone rip-up clasts that may be deformed are 

found evenly distributed through beds or concentrated 

along particular horizons, as are calcareous concretions. The uppermost parts of the beds, if graded, 

characteristically contain convolute laminae and contorted stratification. Thin mudstone and shale interbeds commonly separate the thick sandstones; however, 

these interbeds or partings are commonly laterally discontinuous. Amalgamation of sandstones due to the 

nondeposition of or removal of fine-grained interbeds is 

common and results in composite sequences of sandstone beds as much as 150ft (45 m) thick. 

Conglomerate clasts may be oriented or irregularly 

dispersed in a sandstone matrix. Pebbly mudstone is 

very rare. Channeling and downcutting into underlying 

strata is common, both at the base of sandstone beds and 

within beds. Sequences of thick sandstones grade laterally into more thinly bedded sandstones and downcurrent into more thinly bedded turbidite sandstones with 

more completely developed Bouma sequences. Rotational slumps and contorted strata are present in both 

thickly bedded and thinly bedded sandstones inferred to 

be channel and interchannel deposits. Sand injection 

structures, such as dikes, sills, and diapirs are locally 

abundant. Invertebrate megafossils are rare, but 

Foraminifera are common in interbedded shales. 

These deposits are mostly very proximal turbidites as 

defined by Walker (1967, 1970); however, they are interbedded seemingly at random with ·more thinly bedded, finer grained fl.yschlike sandstones which are very 

distal turbidites by the same definition. The thinly bedded sandstones apparently represent interchannel deposits, and are characterized by graded bedding, flute, 

groove and load casts, primary current lineation, convolute lamination, flame structures, current ripple markings, small-scale cross-strata, and generally incomplete 

Bouma sequences. 

TECTONIC FRAMEWORK.OF 

BORDERLAND SEDIMENTATION 

We believe that the deep, restricted early Tertiary 

basins of central California probably resulted from 

right-lateral slip along a proto-San Andreas fault. The 

formation of these basins is closely linked spatially and 

temporally to the postulated emplacement of the continental borderland by right-slip transform faulting 

along the proto-San Andreas fault. The basins appear to 

be similar to those suggested by Crowell (1972, 1973b, 

1974) to result from slicing and fragmentation of continental crust along transform boundaries between major 

crustal plates. Such tectonism results in local crustal 

extension, the pulling apart or rifting of the continental 
TECTONIC FRAMEWORK OF BORDERLAND SEDIMENTATION 49 

crust to form basins at the same time that compression, 

folding, and uplift forms adjacent highland source 

areas. 

The basins formed by crustal stretching or extension 

are small rhombochasms or pull-apart basins; they may 

be grabens or half-grabens bounded by normal faults 

which trend at high angles to the major transform fault 

zone, or may be elongate depressed blocks within the 

complex, bifurcating transform zone (fig. 8). The basins 

are typically bounded by upland areas on two sides, 

often three or four sides. Sediments may be transported 

into the basins from adjacent uplifted blocks or longitudinally from source areas farther away, on either 

side of the major transform fault. The Ridge basin, parts 

of the Ventura basin and the Santa Barbara Channel 

have been suggested as possible examples of late 

Cenozoic basins formed as rhombochasms or pull-aparts 

related to movement on the present San Andreas fault. 

Other modern features such as San Francisco Bay, 

Monterey Bay, and at least some of the borderland basins of southern California have probably also been 

formed as a result of right-lateral slip. 

We conclude that similar processes disrupted the 

early Tertiary continental borderland formed by the 

Salinian block, and that thick, areally restricted borderland deep-sea fan deposits filled deep rhombic holes 

or pull-apart basins formed by right-lateral slip along 

the proto-San Andreas fault. As the Salinian block was 

transported northwestward during Late Cretaceous 

and early Tertiary time, it broke into separate fragments that formed island sources areas separated by 

deep marine basins. Most of the basins were probably 

fault-bounded, although some may have originated 

partly as simple down warps of the crust due to extension. Because the island source areas were rapidly uplifted, the detritus supplied to the depositional basins 

was coarse-grained, fresh, and unweathered. In many 

areas, gravels and coarse-grained sands were apparently transported directly from source areas to deep 

marine depositional sites. Most of the pull-apart basins 

of the borderland were probably deep and bounded by 

relatively steep slopes. As a result of the volume, 

coarseness, and high rate of sediment supply, thick, 

coarse-grained upper and middle fan facies dominated 

the submarine fans deposited in these basins. 

The major basins in the early Tertiary continental 

borderland area, the Gualala, La Honda, Sierra Madre, 

and Santa Ynez basins, contain thick, deep marine 

sedimentary sections. In contrast, many of the late Tertiary rhombochasmic basins along the present San Andreas fault system are largely filled with shallow 

marine and nonmarine sediments. An exception to this 

general pattern in the early Tertiary continental borderland may have been the northern Santa Lucia Range 

basin, which appears to have been filled substantially 

by shallow marine and even nonmarine deposits; however, the original extent of this basin and its deposits 

cannot be ascertained from the existing outcrops. Two of 

the deepest basins with very thick sediment fills were 

the Gualala and La Honda basins, located in the part of 

the borderland that jutted out more than 150 miles 

(240 km) northwestward from the continental margin 

(figs. 7, 8). · 

The geometry and boundaries of the Gualala basin 

cannot be fully determined because it is truncated on 

the east by the San Andreas fault, covered on the west 

by the Pacific Ocean, and its strata are beveled by a 

post-middle Eocene unconformity. The oldest strata in 

the basin, which are Late Cretaceous in age, rest on a 

pillowed spilite that resembles volcanic rocks in the 

Franciscan Formation and has oceanic affinities 

(Wentworth, 1966). It is possible that rifting and extension of the continental crust near the margin of the 

continent during the Late Cretaceous may have resulted in oceanic crust being exposed in the central part 

of the basin; by this process, the Gualala basin or possibly some of the other borderland basins may be floored 

by oceanic crust, even though it is part of the Salinian 

block. Alternatively, the presumably Franciscan spilite 

may have been offset right-laterally from Franciscan 

basement rocks near the inferred Sierran-Franciscan 

contact located northwest of the western San Andreas 

fault, as suggested by Wentworth (1968). 

The original boundaries of the La lfonda basin are 

also poorly known. The southern margin may have been 

formed by the Monterey fault, an old fault that trends 

approximately east-west within Monterey Canyon, is 

probably upthrown on the south side, and may have 

been active in the early Tertiary (Martin and Emery, 

1967; Greene, 1970). A second potential boundary is the 

Santa Cruz fault of Ross and Brabb (1973), which trends 

northeast-southwest near the south end of the Santa 

Cruz Mountains; it is a dip-slip fault of moderate displacement along which granitic basement rocks are 

upthrown on the south. A bounding landmass northwest of the reconstructed La Honda basin is suggested 

by the presence of some southeastward-directed paleocurrents and fine conglomerates in the northwesternmost outcrops of the Butano Sandstone, and by 

northeastward-directed paleocurrents and thick, 

coarse-grained upper and middle fan facies in the 

northwesternmost outcrops of the Point of Rocks 

Sandstone. The relation between the La Honda basin 

and the Paleocene basin represented by deposits in the 

Point San Pedro area is not known. The La Honda basin 

was probably bounded by uplands on the northwest and 

south, and possibly on the southwest. The lower 

Tertiary sedimentary strata within it indicate that 

initial shallow marine deposition was followed by rapid 

deepening of the basin and deposition of deeper marine 
50 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

--- ------- ---- - ---- ---- ------ ----- --------

---

EXPLANATION 

CS - Cantua Sandstone Member of Lodo Formation, 

Vallecitos area 

GR - German Rancho Formation of Wentworth, 1968, 

Gualala area 

PR - Conglomerate, sandstone and shale of Point Reyes 

area 

PSP - Conglomerate, sandstone and shale of Point San 

Pedro area 

POR - Point of Rocks Sandstone of the northern Temblor 

Range and southwestern San Joaquin Valley area 

BU - Butano Sandstone of the Santa Cruz Mountains 

area 

C - Carmelo Formation of Bowen, 1965a, of the 

Point Lobos area 

TR - The Rocks Sandstone of Thorup, 1941, of the 

northern Santa Lucia Range area 

SM Sierra Madre basin 

SR H - San Rafael high 

APPROXIMATE SCALE 

0 50 

0 50 100 KILOMETRES 

+ 

SIERRA 

NEVADA 

+ 

MOJAVE 

DESERT 

+ 

N 

+ 
TECTONIC FRAMEWORK OF BORDERLAND SEDIMENTATION 51 

shale; this was followed in turn by deposition of a large 

volume of coarse-grained sediment derived principally 

from a felsic plutonic area to the south. In latest Eocene 

time, only deep marine shale was deposited in the basin, 

indicating that uplift of the source area had ceased or 

that coarse-grained sediments were prevented from 

reaching the basin. 

The Sierra Madre and Santa Ynez basins may have 

been partly bounded by east-west-trending normal 

faults. A variety of paleocurrent and lithofacies data 

indicates that these basins were separated in the west 

by a wedge-shaped emergent area known as the San 

Rafael high, which had an east-west-trending southern 

edge and. a northwest-trending northern edge (fig. 7). 

This high may have been fault-bounded, as the two 

basins appear to have deepened abruptly to the north 

and south. Recurrent uplift of the high is indicated in 

part by the abundant coarse-grained sediments derived 

from it. Eastward, the Sierra Madre and Santa Ynez 

basins appear to merge into a common basin. 

In summary, we suggest that (1) the early Tertiary 

sedimentary basins located west of the San Andreas 

fault were formed tectonically by crustal stretching associated with emplacement of the early Tertiary continental borderland along a proto-San Andreas fault during the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary; (2) the 

basin margins were tectonically active and formed by 

normal faulting and downwarping; (3) the basin floors 

were also tectonically active, undergoing uplift and 

subsidence; ( 4) the larger basins were very deep and 

were filled primarily by deep-sea fan deposits and 

hemipelagic shale; (5) some basins received deep-sea 

fan deposits continuously from Late Cretaceous to late 

Eocene time, whereas others received fan deposits for 

much shorter periods; and (6) the basins were limited in 

extent and most were bounded by upland areas on at 

least two sides. South of the Santa Ynez basin, the 

continental margin was characterized by a continental 

shelf, slope, and possible deep-sea fans to the west deposited on the open, unrestricted continental rise area. 

Although the major conclusions of this paper substantiate the major conclusions about the plate tectonic 

FlGURE8.-Generalized map showing tectonic activity within the 

early Tertiary continental borderland of western California, based 

on restoration of 190 miles (305 km) of post-Eocene right-lateral 

offset along the present San Andreas fault. Upland areas are indicated by +, continental shelf by closely spaced horizontal lines, 

continental slope by hachure lines, and low-lying basins and ocean 

floor by widely spaced horizontal lines. Deep-sea fans are shown by 

dotted pattern, edges of deep-sea fans by short dashed lines, and 

paleocurrent directions by single-headed arrows. Directions of rifting apart of borderland blocks indicated by solid, double-headed 

arrows. 

history of the western North American continental 

margin developed by Atwater (1970) and Atwater and 

Molnar (1973), some of the early Tertiary paleogeographic data do not completely fit into her model. As a 

result, we· can only speculate about the overall tectonic 

history and development of the California continental 

margin during the early Tertiary. Atwater indicates 

that a triple junction developed in the Late Cretaceous 

and early Tertiary where the spreading ridge that separated the Kula and Faralloil plates interacted with the 

North American plate (fig. 5). According to her model, 

this triple junction migrated northwestward during the 

Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary along the transform 

fault that separated the Kula and North American 

plates, in response to the relative motion between these 

two plates and to the spreading systems to the west and 

south. North of the triple junction, the transform 

boundary (proto-San Andreas fault) was progressively 

shortened, while south of the triple junction the subduction zone that formed the boundary between the North 

American and Farallon plates was progressively 

lengthened. As a consequence of this geometric relationship of plates, the emplacement of the continental 

borderland by right-slip movements along the protoSan Andreas fault was succeeded by subduction along 

the continental margin. 

We suggest that in central California subduction 

probably took place in the early Tertiary west of the 

continental borderland at the boundary between 

oceanic and continental ci"ust, rather than at the site of 

the transform boundary as shown by Atwater (1970) 

(figs. 5, 7). Only after the triple junction migrated to a 

position north of the northwestern end of the continental borderland making u·p the Salinian block, perhaps 

about 60 million years ago, did subduction begin to 

occur along the site of the transform boundary. However, the data to support this inference are not presently 

available, because the evidence presumably lies buried 

in offshore areas, west of the Salinian block and possibly 

in the western part of the modern southern California 

borderland. The ucoastal belt" Franciscan rocks of early 

Tertiary age provide evidence for the existence of a 

trench in northern California. However, preliminary 

work suggests that this trench was not actively undergoing subduction during most of the early Tertiary; the 

((coastal belt" strata have been interpreted as trench-fill 

deposits in an inactive trench. Possibly the active 

trench postulated herein for the early Tertiary lay west 

of the inactive trench represented by the ucoastal belt" 

Franciscan strata. 

The data needed to support Atwater's model of a 

northward-lengthening subduction zone in t~e early 
52 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

Tertiary along the contact between the Farallon and 

North American plates are not available from the onshore record of the lower Tertiary strata. The only concrete evidence for a trench exists in the record of the 

ucoastal belt" Franciscan rocks, where preliminary data 

indicate evidence for subduction continuing only up to 

the middle Paleocene (Berkland, 1972). If Atwater's 

model is correct, the subduction zone should have been 

initiated at successively later times toward the north. 

It may be possible that the subduction of the Farallon 

plate in the early Tertiary was very slow or that it 

proceeded in such a manner that evidence for active 

subduction in the ~~coastal belt" Franciscan strata of 

northern California is not clearly recognizable. The extensive volcanic activity throughout California that 

began in Oligocene time is probably related to subduction of the Farallon plate; the rate of subduction may 

have increased along the postulated offshore trench and 

subduction zone to the west during the Oligocene. Much 

additional study of early Tertiary sedimentary rocks in 

the ~~coastal belt" Franciscan, San Francisco Bay region, and offshore areas will be required to satisfactorily resolve some of the large-scale problems of the early 

Tertiary tectonic history of California. 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

Recent geologic studies suggest that 135-260 miles 

(220-420 km) of right-lateral offset occurred along a 

proto-San Andreas· fault in central and northern California during Late.Cretaceous and early Paleocene time 

(fig. 4). Mid-Mesozoic granitic basement rocks in the 

Salinian block have been offset northwestward between 

325 and 450 miles (520-720 km) from the southern end 

of the Sierra Nevada (Hill and Dibblee, 1953; Curtis and 

others, 1958). Displacements along the present San Andreas fault appear to be limited to about 190 miles (305 

km), an offset which has been demonstrated for rocks of 

late Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene (about 

22 and 23.5 m.y. old) age. These displacements indicate 

that right-lateral slip did not occur between early 

Paleocene and early Miocene time and that the offset 

observed on the present San Andreas fault results entirely from post-early Miocene movements (Turner, 

1968, 1969; Turner and others, 1970; Huffman, 1972a, 

b; Huffman and others, 1973; Clarke and Nilsen, 1972, 

1973; Nilsen and Clarke, 1972; Clarke, 1973; Dickinson 

and others, 1972; Matthews, 1973a, b; Nilsen, Dibblee, 

and Simoni, 197 4). The remaining offset of 135-260 

miles (220-420 km) was taken up by the proto-San 

Andreas fault (Suppe, 1970). This conclusion is supported by a tentative reconstruction of plate motions in 

the eastern Pacific which suggest that interaction of the 

North American and Kula plates resulted in rightlateral transform faulting of the California continental 

margin from about 80 to 60 m.y. ago (Atwater, 1970). 

The trace of this old .fault in central and northern 

California is probably almost parallel to but west of the 

present San Andreas fault; it probably bypassed the 

present onshore southern California area and is located 

in the present continental borderland west of southern 

California and northern Baja California. Part of it may 

be preserved onshore in southern Baja California 

(Minch and James, 1974). 

Displacement of the Salinian block from the southern 

Sierra Nevada along the proto-San Andreas fault 

formed an elongate continental borderland which extended perhaps 200 miles (320 km) northwestward from 

the Mesozoic continental margin (fig. 7). This borderland probably consisted of granitic island uplands separated by deep marine basins, although the uplands may 

have been interconnected to form a long irregular 

peninsula. Preservation of the early Tertiary basins in 

the borderland areas, determination of fault offsets, and 

recognition that the Salinian block formed a borderland 

in the early Tertiary argue against emplacement of the 

Salinian block wholly during the Neogene (Johnson and 

Normark, 1974). The borderland may have been 

bounded on the west by an active subduction zone and 

trench (Atwater, 1970), which possibly extended 

northwestward through the present northern Coast 

Ranges of California where it could be represented by 

the ucoastal belt" Franciscan rocks (Berkland, 1972). 

The sedimentary record indicates that the borderland 

was tectonically active; sedimentation was rapid and 

both basins and source areas were mobile. Uplift and 

vigorous erosion of granitic and metamorphic terranes 

is also suggested by the arkosic composition, freshness, 

angularity, and coarseness of sands derived from this 

region, and by the presence of pebble to boulder-size 

clasts of plutonic and gneissic rock. Very well rounded 

pebbles and cobbles of quartz, quartzite, chert, and porphyritic volcanic rock are common, indicating that 

older sedimentary rocks, including conglomerates, 

were also present in many borderland source areas. 

Some basins subsided to bathyal-abyssal depths. 

Paleocurrent directions in basin deposits are varied, 

and in some cases, suggest that basins received sediments from two or more sides. Most of these deposits 

were clearly derived from source areas within the borderland. Shallow-marine deposits are rare, possibly due 

to subsequent deformation and erosion of basin margins. However, their absence also suggests that 

shallow-marine shelves were not well developed, so that 

sediments were transported from source areas directly 

to deep-marine environments. 

Clastic sediments from borderland sources were deposited mostly as submarine fans, some of which apparently spilled eastward out of the borderland onto the 

floor of the San Joaquin basin. Some deposits represent 

several fans which coalesced to form a single, large 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 53 

composite fan. The major early Tertiary deep-sea fans c;>f 

the borderland were: (1) an early Paleocene to middle 

Eocene fan comprising the present German Rancho 

Formation ofWentworth (1968) in the Gualala area, the 

Cantua Sandstone Member of the Lodo Formation in 

the Vallecitos area and possibly the Tres Pinos Sandstone of Kerr and Schenck (1925) in the Bolado Park 

area; (2) an early to late Eocene fan comprising the 

Butano Sandstone in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the 

Point of Rocks Sandstone in the southern· Diablo and 

northern Temblor Ranges; (3) a middle and late Eocene 

fan represented by The Rocks Sandstone of Thorup 

(1941) in the northern Santa Lucia Range; and (4) Late 

Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene fans represented by 

deep-marine sandstone and conglomerate in the La 

Panza, southern Santa Lucia, and Sierra Madre 

Ranges. Other large deep-sea fans are represented by 

similar deposits located to the south in the Santa Ynez 

Mountains and adjacent areas (Stauffer, 1965, 1967; 

Link, 1971, 1972; O'Brien, 1972; Sage, 1973; Howell, 

1974; Van de Camp and others, 1974). Smaller submarine fans may have developed within the borderland 

in the Point Reyes, Point San Pedro, and Point Lobos 

areas. 

The deep-sea fan deposits are mostly thickly bedded, 

medium- to coarse-grained sandstone, but pebble to 

boulder conglomerates are prominent in several areas. 

They were probably funneled into the basin through 

submarine canyons; however, the sedimentary record of 

such basin margin deposition has been largely obliterated by post-Eocene uplift and erosion. Upper and middle fan facies dominate the fan deposits which are preserved, undoubtedly reflecting the coarseness and great 

volume of sediments, high rate of influx, and perhaps 

factors such as multiple sources of supply and physical 

restrictions on lateral growth of the fans. Upper fan 

facies comprise thickly bedded coarse-grained sandstones and conglomerates (interpreted as channel deposits) which are vertically and laterally juxtaposed 

with thinly interbedded sandstone, siltstone, and shale 

(interpreted as levee and interchannel deposits). Middle 

fan facies consist mostly of thickly bedded, medium- to 

coarse-grained sandstone which forms laterally discontinuous beds, reflecting the migration of major channels 

through time. These coarse-grained deposits bear evidence of deposition by various subaqueous gravity flow 

processes, including turbidity currents, fluidized sediment flows, and grain flows (Middleton and Hampton, 

1973). Pebbly mudstones are generally rare in the borderland deposits. 

Distal fan facies comprise thinly interbedded sandstones, siltstones, and shales, and more rarely, channel 

sandstones. This facies appears to have been poorly 

developed in borderland fans. Most very fine terrigenous sediments probably were transported in suspension 

beyond the borderland where they were deposited on 

the adjacent ocean floors. with clay and pelagic detritus 

to form hemipelagic shale, siltstone, and mudstone. The 

Kreyenhagen Formation in the San Joaquin Valley and 

Brabb's (1964) Twobar Shale Member of the San Lorenzo Formation in the Santa Cruz Mountains represent 

such deposits. These fine-grained sediments also accumulated on deep-sea fans when and where coarsegrained clastic sedimentation was not occurring. Siliceous and phosphatic shales characterize the Kreyenhagen Formation and several other deep marine shale 

deposits (Dickert, 1966). 

Large, deep-sea fans constructed westward from 

sources in the Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Ranges 

include (1) the Markley fan, of late Eocene age, represented by deep-marine sandstones in the Markley 

Sandstone Member of the Kreyenhagen Formation 

north of Mount Diablo, and (2) the Poway fan (Yeats and 

others, 197 4), of Eocene to Oligoecene age, which has 

been reconstructed from shallow to deep marine conglomerate and sandstone presently exposed in the 

Santa Monica and Santa Ana Mountains, and on San 

Nicolas, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Miguel Islands. The Poway fan deposits are thought to represent 

a delta which graded offshore westward into a large, 

unrestricted deep-sea fan of the open ocean, perhaps the 

only fan of this type preserved in the early Tertiary rock 

record of the California continental margin. Smaller 

fans from several different source areas are probably 

represented by various lower Tertiary deposits in the 

San Jose area. Other fans may have been constructed at 

the bases of ccgorges" thought to represent submarine 

canyons, such as the Paleocene and early Eocene 

Meganos and Capay (Princeton) gorges of the Sacramento Valley. 

East of the borderland, lower and middle Eocene 

shallow-marine sedimentary rocks derived from the 

Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Ranges contain quartzose_, anauxitic, feldspar-deficient sandstone, residual 

pisolitic claystone, and conglomerate composed principally of resistant clast types (e.g., quartz, quartzite, 

chert, metavolcanic, and metasedimentary rocks). 

These deposits suggest a history of prolonged chemical 

weathering and a relatively quiet tectonic history. 

Upper Eocene and Oligocene deposits, in contrast, are 

composed largely arkosic and lithic sandstone, and conglomerates containing cobble to boulder-size clasts of 

granitic rock, suggesting increasing tectonic activity 

attended by uplift and rapid erosion. Along the east 

flank of the Diablo Range and in the northern Coast 

Ranges, middle Eocene and older shallow-~arine and 

brackish-water sandstones contain glaucophane, serpentine, radiolarian chert pebbles, and other indicators 

of derivation from within the Franciscan assemblage, 

indicating that portions of the Diablo Range and north-
54 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

ern Coast Ranges were emergent during Paleocene and 

Eocene time. 

The complete record of early Tertiary sedimentation 

and tectonics in California is characteristic of the complexities developed along transform fault boundaries 

that involve continental margins. The history of events 

and variety of processes that acted in the shelf, slope, 

ocean floor, trench, and borderland areas yielded aremarkably varied and rapidly changing paleogeography; 

related events and processes have continued to the 

present, yielding the complex geography of modern 

California along the modern San Andreas transform 

fault. 

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58 TERT~J\RY SEDIM~NTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

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. ·•· · . .,. 
60 TERTIARY SEDIMENTATION AND TECTONICS, CONTINENTAL BORDERLAND OF CALIFORNIA 

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