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http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3281

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U.S. Government

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For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, 1–888–ASK–USGS

Digital files available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3281/

Suggested Citation: Johnson, S.Y., Sliter, R.W., Ritchie, A.C., Draut, A.E., Hart, P.E., Phillips, E.L., and Conrad, J.E., 2013, Seismicreflection profiles, Offshore of Santa Barbara map area, California, sheet 8 in Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., 

Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Greene, H.G., Krigsman, L.M., Kvitek, R.G., Dieter, B.E., Endris, C.A., Seitz, G.G., Sliter, R.W., Erdey, M.D., 

Gutierrez, C.I., Wong, F.L., Yoklavich, M.M., Draut, A.E., Hart, P.E., and Conrad, J.E. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), California 

State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Santa Barbara, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3281, 

pamphlet 45 p., 11 sheets, scale 1:24,000, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sim3281.

DISCUSSION

This map sheet shows seismic-reflection profiles from two different surveys of the Offshore of Santa 

Barbara map area, providing imagery of the subsurface geology. The area extends from the nearshore across the 

inner shelf to the midshelf, with maximum water depths of about 75 m in California's State Waters. The shelf is 

underlain largely by upper Pleistocene and Holocene marine sediments (blue shading in profiles; Sommerfield 

and others, 2009; Draut and others, 2009) deposited in the last about 21,000 years, following the last major 

glaciation and sea-level lowstand (see, for example, Fleming and others, 1998). This postglacial stratigraphic 

unit has a maximum thickness of about 14 m (fig. 2) at the east edge of the map area and a mean thickness of 

3.1 m, and it locally pinches out over bedrock uplifts. Two or three submerged and buried shoreline angles and 

wave-cut platforms (see, for example, Kern, 1977) may have formed during relative stillstands during late 

Quaternary sea-level fluctuations (figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9). Nearshore and shelf sediment is derived mainly from 

eastward littoral drift, bluff erosion, and local coastal watersheds (see fig. 1–2 in pamphlet).

The seismic-reflection profiles on this map sheet show significant folding and faulting. The east-weststriking, south-dipping Rincon Creek Fault Zone forms the north edge of a northwest-trending uplift of 

complexly deformed Monterey Formation, due south of Santa Barbara (figs. 7, 9, 12; see also, sheet 10 of this 

report). The fault zone is “blind” in this map area because it does not appear to rupture to the surface or to 

clearly offset the uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic unit. Instead, it is characterized by a zone of 

deformation that includes an upward-narrowing asymmetric syncline that has a gently south-dipping north limb 

and a steeply north-dipping south limb. The east-west-striking, steeply south-dipping north strand of the Red 

Mountain Fault Zone lies about four km south of the Rincon Creek Fault Zone, coincident with the axis of a 

prominent tight syncline (figs. 4, 7, 11). Although the syncline can be mapped across the entire map area, the 

fault tip appears to be buried below the depth of the high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles in the western 

part of the map area. Both the east-west-striking, north-dipping south strand of the Red Mountain Fault Zone 

and the Pitas Point Fault extend westward just south of the map area, as indicated in the industry seismicreflection profile in figure 10. 

Both the Red Mountain and Rincon Creek Fault Zones are inferred to include several splays and to be 

complex at depth, on the basis of the irregular pattern of near-surface folding in the map area, as well as the 

variable fold presence, geometry, length, amplitude, continuity, and wavelength between closely spaced 

seismic-reflection profiles (figs. 1 through 11). 

All but one of the profiles displayed on this map sheet (figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12) were collected 

in 2007 on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cruise Z–3–07–SC (Sliter and others, 2008). Single-channel 

seismic-reflection data were acquired using two different sources, the EdgeTech 512 chirp (figs. 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11) 

and the SIG 2Mille minisparker (figs. 1, 2, 6, 8, 12). The EdgeTech 512 chirp subbottom-profiling system 

consists of a source transducer and an array of receiving hydrophones housed in a 500-lb fish towed at a depth 

of several meters below the sea surface. The swept-frequency chirp source signal was 500 to 4,500 Hz and 50 

ms in length, and it was recorded by hydrophones located on the bottom of the fish. The SIG minisparker 

system used a 500-J high-voltage electrical discharge fired 1 to 4 times per second, which, at normal survey 

speed of 4 to 4.5 nautical miles per hour, gives a data trace every 0.5 to 2.0 meters. The data were digitally 

recorded in standard SEG-Y 32-bit floating-point format, using Triton Subbottom Logger (SBL) software that 

merges seismic-reflection data with differential GPS-navigation data. After the survey, a short-window (20 ms) 

automatic gain control algorithm was applied to both the chirp and minisparker data, and a 160- to 1,200-Hz 

bandpass filter was applied to the minisparker data. The vertical scale on the high-resolution seismic-reflection 

profiles (figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12) is shown as two-way travel time in seconds, as well as in meters on 

the basis of an inferred velocity of 1,600 m/sec for near-surface sediments.

Figure 10 shows a deep-penetration, migrated, multichannel seismic-reflection profile collected in 1984 by 

WesternGeco on cruise W–37–84–SC. This profile and other similar data were collected in many areas offshore 

of California in the 1970s and 1980s when these areas were considered a frontier for oil and gas exploration. 

Much of these data have been publicly released and are now archived at the USGS National Archive of Marine 

Seismic Surveys (U.S. Geological Survey, 2009). These data were acquired with a large-volume air-gun source 

that has a frequency range of 3 to 40 Hz and recorded with a multichannel hydrophone streamer about 2 km 

long; shot spacing was about 30 m. These data can resolve geologic features that are 20 to 30 m thick, down to 

subbottom depths of about 4 km.

REFERENCES CITED

Draut, A.E., Hart, P.E., Lorenson, T.D., Ryan, H.F., Wong, F.L., Sliter, R.W., and Conrad, J.E., 2009, Late 

Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep, 

tectonically active margin, southern California, USA: Marine Geophysical Research, p. 193–206, 

doi:10.1007/s11001-009-9076-y.

Fleming, K., Johnston, P., Zwart, D., Yokoyama, Y., Lambeck, K., and Chappell, J., 1998, Refining the eustatic 

sea-level curve since the Last Glacial Maximum using far- and intermediate-field sites: Earth and Planetary 

Science Letters, v. 163, p. 327–342.

Keller, E.A., Duffy, M., Kennett, J.P., and Hill, T., 2007, Tectonic geomorphology and hydrocarbon potential of 

the Mid-Channel anticline, Santa Barbara Basin, California: Geomorphology, v. 89, p. 274–286.

Kern, J.P., 1977, Origin and history of upper Pleistocene marine terraces, San Diego, California: Geological 

Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 1,553–1,566.

Minor, S.A., Kellogg, K.S., Stanley, R.G., Gurrola, L.D., Keller, E.A., and Brandt, T.R., 2009, Geologic map of 

the Santa Barbara coastal plain area, Santa Barbara County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Map 3001, scale 1:25,000, 1 sheet, pamphlet 38 p., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

sim/3001/.

Sliter, R.W., Triezenberg, P.J., Hart, P.E., Draut, A.E., Normark, W.R., and Conrad, J.E., 2008, High-resolution 

chirp and mini-sparker seismic-reflection data from the southern California continental shelf—Gaviota to 

Mugu Canyon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1246, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/

 2008/1246/.

Sommerfield, C.R., Lee, H.J., and Normark, W.R., 2009, Postglacial sedimentary record of the southern 

California continental shelf and slope, Point Conception to Dana Point, in Lee, H.J., and Normark, W.R., 

eds., Earth science in the urban ocean—The Southern California Continental Borderland: Geological 

Society of America Special Paper 454, p. 89–116.

Suppe, J., Chou, G.T., and Hook, S.C., 1992, Rates of folding and faulting determined from growth strata, in

McKlay, K.R., ed., Thrust tectonics: London, Chapman and Hall, p. 105–121.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2009, National Archive of Marine Seismic Surveys: U.S. Geological Survey database, 

available at http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/NAMSS/.

120° 119°40' 119°20' 119°

34°

34°20'

Kilometers 0 5 10

0 4 8 Nautical Miles

Santa Barbara Channel

Santa 

Barbara

Ventura

CALIF.

MAP LOCATION

Limit of California’s

 State Waters

Santa Cruz Island Santa Rosa Island

Area of

 Map

Anacapa

 Island

Seismic-Reflection Profiles, Offshore of Santa Barbara Map Area, California

By

Samuel Y. Johnson, Ray W. Sliter, Andrew C. Ritchie, Amy E. Draut, Patrick E. Hart, Eleyne L. Phillips, and James E. Conrad

2013

0

0.1

0.2

TWT (s)

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000

FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Sparker Line SB-115

500 m

0 

80

160

NORTH

0.1

0.2

0

SOUTH

Figure 12. USGS minisparker seismic-reflection profile SB–115 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Montecito; see trackline map 

for location. Dashed red lines show faults. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticline; converging arrows, synclines); dashed orange line shows axis of syncline 

within Rincon Creek Fault Zone. Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 11 m on 

profile. Lower contact of this stratigraphic unit is prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines locally highlight this discordance. Also highlighted (dashed purple lines) are two 

lower angular unconformities: upper one is related to local deformation; lower one is present at base of late Tertiary sedimentary basin that formed on south flank of late Tertiary 

anticlinal uplift (see also, fig. 2). Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

late Tertiary

 basin 

Rincon Creek Fault Zone

folding and faulting, 

Two-way travel time, in seconds

Fig. 2

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 6.5

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

TWT (s)

4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 8000 7500 7000 6500 6000 5500 5000 4500 9000 8500

FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Chirp Line SBC-116

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0 

80

40

Figure 11. . USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–116 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa 

Barbara; see trackline map for location. Dashed red line shows north strand of Red Mountain Fault, near where it disappears westward in axis of syncline. 

Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticline; converging arrows, syncline). Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene 

nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 5 m on profile but are not present over rocky uplift south of anticline axis. This upper 

stratigraphic unit is underlain by prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are 

undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

rocky uplift

Red Mountain Fault,

 north strand

Fig. 1

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

0

SOUTH

1 km

Pitas Point Fault NORTH

Figure 10. Industry 2-D, migrated multichannel air-gun seismic-reflection profile WC–84–212 (collected in 1984 on survey W–37–84–SC), which extends south across Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa 

Barbara; see trackline map for location. Note that profile has similar horizontal scale to USGS high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles shown in figures 1 through 10, but it has much less vertical exaggeration 

(about 1.5:1). Note also that profile has not been depth converted and so no depth scale is shown, but it probably extends to depths of 4 to 5 km. Note near overlap with figure 5 (see trackline map). Pitas Point 

Fault Zone and Red Mountain Fault (south strand) are shown by dashed yellow lines; magenta symbol above profile shows axis of anticline. Faults are “blind” at this resolution; they appear to fold but not 

rupture upper reflections in profile.

near overlap with figure 5

Red Mountain Fault

(south strand) 

Fig. 5

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 1.5

0

0.1

TWT (s)

0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20

x10 4 FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Chirp Line SBC-107

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0

80

40

Figure 9. USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–107 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Montecito; see trackline map for location. Dashed 

red lines show inferred faults. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; converging arrows, synclines). Dashed orange line shows axis of syncline within Rincon Creek Fault Zone. 

Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 6 m on profile. This upper stratigraphic unit is underlain by 

prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor 

multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform 

Rincon Creek Fault Zone

folding and faulting, 

Two-way travel time, in seconds

Fig. 2

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

0.2

TWT (s)

7000 6500 6000 5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Sparker Line SB-154

0.1

0.2

0 0 

80

160

NORTH

500 m

Figure 8. USGS minisparker seismic-reflection profile SB–154 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa Barbara; see trackline 

map for location. Dashed red line shows fault. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticline; converging arrows, syncline). Blue shading shows inferred uppermost 

Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which are thin (less than 1 to 5 m) and have fairly uniform thickness across profile. This upper stratigraphic unit is underlain by 

prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow 

line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

SOUTH

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 6.5

Fig. 1

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

TWT (s)

1.30 1.25 1.20 1.15 1.10 1.05 1.00 0.95 0.90 0.85 0.80 0.75 0.70 0.65 0.60 0.55 0.50 0.45 0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05

x10 4 FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Chirp Line SBC-109

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0 

80

40

Figure 7. USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–109 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa Barbara; see trackline map for location. 

Dashed red lines show faults. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticline; converging arrows, syncline); dashed orange line shows axis of syncline within Rincon Creek Fault Zone. 

Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which are very thin to absent over much of profile; maximum thickness of about 7 m is at location of 

buried shoreline angle (depth about 47 m) and wave-cut platform. This upper stratigraphic unit is underlain by prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. 

Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform

 

Rincon Creek Fault Zone

folding and faulting, 

Red Mountain Fault,

 north strand

Fig. 2

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

0.2

TWT (s)

7000 6500 6000 5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Sparker Line SB-150

0.1

0.2

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0 

80

160

Figure 6. USGS minisparker seismic-reflection profile SB–150 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa Barbara; 

see trackline map for location. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; converging arrows, synclines). Blue shading shows inferred uppermost 

Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 12 m on this transect but thin markedly at south end of profile. Upper 

stratigraphic unit is underlain by prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided 

Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector). Fig. 1

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 6.5

Approximate depth, in meters

gas

0

0.1

TWT (s)

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 8000

FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Chirp Line SBC-118

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0 

80

40

near overlap with figure 10

Figure 5. USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–118 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of 

Santa Barbara; see trackline map for location. Dashed red lines show inferred faults. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; 

converging arrows, synclines). Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum 

thickness of about 7 m on this transect but pinch out over offshore uplift at south end of profile. Upper stratigraphic unit is underlain by prominent angular 

unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. 

Note near overlap with figure 10 (see trackline map), which has much lower resolution but much greater depth penetration. Dashed yellow line is 

seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform

Two-way travel time, in seconds

Fig. 10

Fig. 1

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

TWT (s)

0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05

x10 4 FFID

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Chirp Line SBC-111

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH NORTH

0 

80

40

500 m

Figure 4. USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–111 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa Barbara; see trackline 

map for location. Dashed red line shows fault. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; converging arrows, syncline). Blue shading shows inferred 

uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which are thin (typically 0 to 3 m) and of relatively uniform thickness across profile; maximum thickness (about 

6 m) is at location of buried shoreline angle (depth about 42 m) and wave-cut platform. This upper stratigraphic unit is underlain by prominent angular unconformity; dashed green 

lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to Pleistocene rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor 

reflector).

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform

Red Mountain Fault,

 north strand

Fig. 2

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

Figure 3. USGS chirp seismic-reflection profile SBC–122 (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa Barbara; see 

trackline map for location. Dashed red lines show inferred faults. Magenta symbols show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; converging arrows, synclines). Blue shading 

shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 9 m on this transect but pinch out over offshore 

uplift and at south end of profile. Two buried wave-cut platforms and shoreline angles are present in center of profile, at depths of about 48 and 56 m. Upper stratigraphic unit 

is underlain by prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines partly highlight this discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undivided Miocene to 

Pleistocene rocks. “Mound” in seafloor, about 3 m high, is associated with zone of faulting, and it is tentatively interpreted as asphalt mound (see, for example, Keller and 

others, 2007). Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

0.05

0.1

0

SOUTH

500 m

NORTH

0 

80

40

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform

buried shoreline angle

and wave-cut platform

asphalt

mound?

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 13

Approximate depth, in meters

Fig. 1

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 110 120 130 140 150

Holocene folding, Rincon 

Creek Fault Zone 

late Tertiary basin

0.1

0.2

0

500 m

WEST

0 

80

160

EAST

Figure 2. USGS minisparker seismic-reflection profile SB–114T (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore from Santa Barbara to Montecito, 

subparallel to shoreline; see trackline map for location. Dashed red lines show inferred faults. Magenta symbols above seafloor show fold axes (diverging arrows, anticlines; converging 

arrows, synclines). Both faults and folds have highly oblique orientation to predominant west-northwest structural grain. Easternmost fault is interpreted as structure associated with 

Rincon Creek Fault Zone (mapped onland by Minor and others, 2009), shown on this profile as “blind” fault that deforms young strata but does not rupture surface; dashed orange lines 

highlight shape of fold and “growth triangle” (Suppe and others, 1992) associated with this fault. Blue shading shows inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf 

deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 14 m at east end of profile. Lower contact of this stratigraphic unit is prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines locally 

highlight this discordance. Also highlighted (dashed purple lines) are two lower angular unconformities at east end of profile (see also, fig. 12): upper one probably results from local 

deformation within Rincon Creek Fault Zone; lower, more sinuous one is present at base of late Tertiary sedimentary basin that formed on east flank of anticlinal uplift. Dashed blue lines 

show small channel, possibly cut by Mission Creek (see fig. 1–2 in pamphlet) during last sea-level lowstand. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

channel

Fig. 1

Fig. 4

Fig. 7

Fig. 9

Fig. 12

Two-way travel time, in seconds

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 6.5

Approximate depth, in meters

0

0.1

0.2

TWT (s)

0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10

FFID x10 4

Z3-07-SC agc=20 Sparker Line SB-149T

Two-way travel time, in seconds 0.1

0.2

0

500 m

0 

80

160

Figure 1. USGS minisparker seismic-reflection profile SB–149T (survey Z–3–07–SC; Sliter and others, 2008), which crosses Santa Barbara shelf offshore of Santa 

Barbara, subparallel to shoreline; see trackline map for location. Dashed red line shows fault. Magenta symbols above seafloor show fold axes (diverging arrows, 

anticlines; converging arrows, synclines). Both fault and folds are oriented highly oblique to predominant west-northwest structural trend. Blue shading shows 

inferred uppermost Pleistocene and Holocene nearshore and shelf deposits, which have maximum thickness of about 8 m at west end of profile. Lower contact of 

this stratigraphic unit is prominent angular unconformity; dashed green lines locally highlight discordance. Folded strata beneath unconformity are undifferentiated 

Miocene to lower Pleistocene sedimentary rocks. Dashed yellow line is seafloor multiple (echo of seafloor reflector).

WEST EAST Fig. 3 Fig. 6

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION ~ 6.5

Fig. 5

Fig. 8

Fig. 11

Approximate depth, in meters

ONE MILE = 0.869 NAUTICAL MILES

1 0.5 0 1 KILOMETER

7000 3500 0 7000 FEET

2 1 0 2 MILES

SCALE 1:50 000

APPROXIMATE MEAN

DECLINATION, 2013

MAGNETIC NORTH

12 / ° 1 2

TRUE NORTH

Onshore elevation data from NOAA Coastal Services 

Center (collected by EarthData International in 2002-2003). 

Offshore shaded-relief bathymetry from map on sheet 2, 

this report. California's State Waters limit from NOAA 

Office of Coast Survey

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 11N

NOT INTENDED FOR NAVIGATIONAL USE

GIS database and digital cartography by Eleyne L. Phillips 

and Peter Dartnell

Edited by Taryn A. Lindquist 

Manuscript approved for publication December 12, 2013

119°40'

119°40'

119°45'

119°45'

34°25'

34°25'

34°20'

34°20'

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 6

Fig. 5

Fig. 8

Fig. 11

Fig. 4

Fig. 7

Fig. 9

Fig. 12

Fig. 10

Trackline Map

EXPLANATION

Tracklines of select seismic-reflection 

surveys—Thick lines show locations of 

profile lines depicted in figures; thin lines 

show full extent of surveys

Survey Z–3–07–SC (USGS), minisparker

Survey Z–3–07–SC (USGS), chirp

Surveys W–37–84–SC, W–6–85–SC, 

W–40–85–SC (WesternGeco)

3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State 

Waters

Area of “no data”—Areas near shoreline not 

mapped owing to insufficient highresolution seafloor mapping data; areas 

beyond 3-nautical-mile limit of 

California’s State Waters were not 

mapped as part of California Seafloor 

Mapping Program

Figure 1

Figure 10

Figure 3

Santa Barbara

Montecito

Scientific Investigations Map 3281

Sheet 8 of 11

Pamphlet accompanies map

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey