The San Francisco call., 1897-01-19
WHERE OIL FLOWS
FROM H|LLSIDES
Character Of the Petroleum
Fields of Southern
Counties.
Watts of the State Mining
Bureau Tells of His
Investigations.
Cattle Stick Fast and Die in Warm
Asphaltum Like Fies on
Flypaper

The oil resources of California are being
! carefully investigated by the State Mining
Bureau, which looks for great develop
ment some day OF the oil industry along
the slopes of the Coast Range from Sar
Francisco southwark almost to the Mex
can border line. The recent extensive
explorations made in the southern part o
the State by W. L. Watts of the Mining
Bureau formed the subject OF an interest
Ing popular lecture given last night before
the Academy of Sciences.
The discourse was made additionally
entertaining by stereopticon display o.
about 200 views of the Oil wells, bitumin
Gus deposits and petroleum bearing re-
gons visited by the lecturer.
One of the views showed an asphaltun
flow in which were sticks and stones and
bones OF animals. Sometimes, the lee
turer explained, cattle lie down In the as,
phaltum when it is warm; they never gel
up again. At other times, on warm days
cows attempt to walk through the soft
black stuff, but they stay in IL until they
are rescued or until they die.
In some localities, particularly in the
Sespe oil regions of Ventura County,
horizontal tunnels have been bored into
the precipitous hillsides in search of oil
flow. The gas accompanying the oil de-
posit makes life in the tunnels impossible
without constant blast of fresh air semi
in by water pressure.
Some of the tunnels are lighted by in
candescent electric lights. Others are
lighted simply by an ordinary mirror, op-
Grated by man on the outside, so that
The suns rays are reflected straight into
the tunnel. By this simple means light
may be thrown in distance OF 1000 feet,
al d with such power that ordinary news
paper print may be read by person a.
the far end of the tunnel.
During his discourse Mr.. Watts, when
describing the commercial aspects OF his
scientific explorations, spoke in substance
as follows:
The minerals OF California consist not only
OF those from which metals are obtained, bu
also of numerous other substances which
are constantly becoming in greater demand
as civilization advances and as the arts and
manufactures are further developed. Tn M mos
important of the latter class of minerals are
those known as the hydrocarbons. They are
formed of the elements OF hydrogen aud
carbon. They furnish light and hea
and are utilized in many different ways
which contribute 10 mans comfort and well
being.
The hydrocarbon minerals treated in Ihi
lecture are the petroleums.
Researches in various parts of the worl6
have led to the conclusion that petroleum de
pOS1tS may be divided into Two classes, namely,
| primary and secondary deposits. The primary
| deposit is ontained by the rocks in which tht
petroleum was formed or originally accumu
| lated. The secondary deposit is formed wheI
| petroleum wanders from strata in which i
| originally accumulated and finds resting
place in other rocks which are favorable to iti
storage.
| Primary deposits have been found to belone
| to definite geological horizons; that is to say
| the rocky strata containing such deposits
have a definite position with regard to The
| other rocks which have been formed before
and after them. and which, taken together
| with the petroleum yielding rocks, constitute
q geological series in the lies where sucf
deposits of petroleum are found. Such oil
| yielding strata are conformable to all the
| other strata included within their geological
| horizon, and frequently the oiEyielding rock!
| can be traced ON mountain to mountain
! wherever the characte ristic rocks representing
| their geological horizon are exposed.
! The secondary deposits are, IN the nature O.
their occurrence, erratic and local. In some
cases it is difficult to distinguish primary from
| secondary deposits, but when rocks belOngln
to a certain geological horizon are found to bt
| oil-bearing, not only in one place, but or
! different 1olds and in different localities, i
may be assumed that such oil-Dearing rocks
| belong to primary deposit of petroleum.
Another important question is that of the
! structure of the rocks which has resulted ii
! the accumulation OF petroleum In valuable
quantities. The characteristic structure o
| the formations is that OF closely compressed
auticlnal folls. BY far the greatest num- bel
of remunerative wells penetrate the rock.
which form the upper portion of these folds
During the year 1895 about 1,250, 900 ba T,
rels of oil were produced in Call foruia. o.
this amount very nearly 100000 barrels
were produced in Los Angeles County, and
something less than $50, 900 in Venturs
County. 1t probable that the yield for 1896
will not fall very far short OF this amount t.
The geological. horizon of the oI-yieiding
rocks in the southern part of California is a.
follows:
About Los Angeles, pliocene; and in the
Puente district, older than pliocene The
petroleum deposits north of the valley of the
Santa Clara River, in Ventura County, consist
of dark-colored shales and soft sandstone de-
posted between the eocene and miocene pc
Rod and rocks deposited during the eocine
period The geological horizon of the oil
Welding rocks at Summerland, San ia Barbara
County, has yet to be determined.
The Los Angeles oil and the Summerland oil
is heavy; its principal value is for fuel. 1t is
usually estimated that from three and hall
to four barrels OF it have a fuel value equal to
that of about one ton OF good bituminous coal
lighter than the Los Angeles and Summer.
land oil. 1t is handled by the Union Oil Com.
pauy, which has a refinery at Oleum, Contr
Costa County.
The oil from the Puente wells and from the
wells of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, neal
Newha |, in Los Angeles County, is still lighter
than the Ventura County oil. The Puente oil
is refined by the Puente Oil Company. which
has its works at Chino, in San BernardinC
County. The Pico Canyon oil is refined by the
Pacific Coast and the Star Oh Company at it.
works in Alameda County.