The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-05
OIL AND NATURAL GAS,
Promising Outcroppings in the
Contra Costa County
Hills.
FOUR MILES FROM BERKELEY
Geological Surroundings Indicate
That the Supply Is Inex-
hauStible.

The discovery of petroleum and natural
gas on ] o. Miners property, commonly
called the Alden ranch, in Contra Costa
County, promises to add new enterprise
to this section of the State. That there is
oil and gas on the premises there is no
doubt, and from all appearances the sup
ply of the former is abundant. The new
field is so close to Oakland, to tidewater
and to the railroad that once good flow is
started, in the language of Colonel Sellers
| there is millions in it.
An inspection of the ground is we'll worth
the while, not only of the scientist and
| curiosity-seeker, but of the capitalist, who
might see in the outcroppings in Louter-
wasser Creek an opportunity to increase
| his wealth. This petroleum soaked valley
is just over the hills to the northeast OF
| Oakland, and four miles from the State
University at Berkeley. Mr.. Miners ranch
is reached by going out Telegraph avenue
| ana turning into the Lafayette and Walnut
| Creek road. To many of the old-t timers in
| to the Fish Ranch for trout for breakfast,
! it is best described as being three miles
from that once popular resort.
The presence of oil and gas is the most
| plainly manifested about 300 yards up the
| creek from Mr.. Miners house. At that
| point the edges of the creek are discolored
| by an oily substance which oozes from the
! strata of shale rock, and floats away in
| the stream. The owner and one of his
men entered the creek bed yesterday, and
with pick broke up layer after layer OF
rock, all of which, upon examination,
proved to be literally saturated with pc
| troleum. The crevices and seams are
| thickly coated with the substance, which
| is brown and sticky and resembles crude
men prospected up the creek for about 200
| wards, and the same results were obtained.
| Crude oil ooZed out of the rocks at every
stroke of the pick, and f1oated away on the
surface of the creek until the stream was
CLASSY in appearance, like a mirror.
The discovery of natural gas was made
| by Miner several years ago, about 500
| yards up the valley from the place where
| the oil was recently found. Oil was also
| found up the creek while making expert
mental boring for gas. AT the latter place
| he collected about ten gallons of crude pc
troleum, but fully ten barrels escaped into
| the stream from a small impounding dam
which he had constructed. Upon that
| occasion he made a slxteen-foot cut into
| the side hill where there had been a land
| slide into salt spring. There is more
| saline matter in the water of this spring
| than in ocean water, and that is one of the
| indications of oil. Out of this spring,
which has been deepened and enlarged, is
constant flow of bubbles from below
caused by escaping gas. A can with a
small faucet in the bottom was placed bot
tom up over these buboles and in a short
time the upward pressure of the gas
showed that the can was full. A lighted
candle was placed at the mouth of the
| faucet.
Instantly flame sprang into the air dis
lance of three feet as the gas was consumed.
When the spring is clean this flame has
| burned for fifteen minutes, creating an in
| tense heat, but yesterday, owing to the
soft mud clogging the holes in the
| bottom of the spring, it did not burn over
| three minutes. The experience of those
who have worked in the oil fields in Penn
| sylvania and the southern part of Cali
| fornia is that oil and gas go together.
A. A. Cunningham, an analytical chem
| ist at 229 Geary street. has examined the
| dark, sticky substance and pronounces it to
be fine grade of petroleum, equal to any
| produced by the wells in the southern
| part of the State. Samples of the shale
| gathered from along the ledge for three
| paratfine IN large quantities. In this rock,
which was taken from the surface, Ii per
| cent of volatile substances were found.
A prominent scientist who has examined
| Mr.. Miners property states that the geo.
| logical features of the surrounding country
| are very similar to those near several large
oil fields in the East that he had visited.
| In the first place, it is situated in coal
| region. Mount Diablo, with its coal mines,
| lies to the southeast. In the opposite di-
rection, among the hills back of Berkeley
| and San Pablo, coal has been found in con-
| siderable quantities. but according to
| scientists it is about 5000 years too young
| to be of use commercially.
| In fact, from Mexico to British Column
| bia, and even Alaska, coal and its products
| are found.
| 1t is believed by those who have ex-
amined Mr.. Miners property that the sup
| ply is ineXhaustible, and their opinions
are based upon the formation of the coun-
| try Immediately surrounding. AS stated,
| the groupings are in the bottom of the
| creek, which at that point is $50 feet above
the sea level. 1t is in the center of huge
amphitheater, two miles long by mile
wide, and near the center is lofty hill
| now green with a crop of barley.
| The stratitied rocks of the surrounding
mountains all show dip" at an angle of
| forty-hve degrees toward the center. Fol-
lowing the strata, in the imagination,
! down the angle until they meet, the i'm
mensity of the oil reservoir had also better
be left to the imagination. At this point
the Importance of the stratifed shale can
be seen, for IL is between these layers that
| the oil is forced to the surface.
| The unstratified sandstone rock that the
torrents of ages have formed in the center
of the huge basin prevents the oil from
reaching the surface except in places where
the upheayals from the interior of the
earth have caused breaks. The altitude of
the outcroppings of the oil leads to the be-
| lief that there are vast stores OF the same
useful product in the lower parts of the
| basin.
| The places mentioned are not the only
ones in the valley where oil has been
found. In several small gulches that spur
off from the creek it is found on tie sur
face of water that collects in little depres-
sions made by the hoofs of horses and
cattle.
Several years ago number of men
undertook to bring the oil to the surface.
The inexperience of the prospectors, the
poor quality of the tools used and the lack
of funds caused the work to be discon-
tinued. A crooked well was bored on the
fiat land, distance of about 100 feet At
that point the machinery broke and could
not be extracted from the hole.
Even at that small depth, which is
hardly below the creek bottom, the results
were very encouraging. Several barrels of
crude oil were obtained and the prospec-