GEOTREK IV-G

WESTERN SANTA SUSANA MOUNTAINS

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Topic: Upper Cretaceous through Pliocene sedimentary and structural history of the western Santa Susana Mountains.

Participants: Gene Fritsche, Kris Kittleson, Syrus Parvizian, and Brian Swanson. See the first photo below (the group photo) to pick out these people.

Distance and Route: Total distance was about 9.1 miles. The trail followed a clockwise loop route along Las Llajas Canyon Road, Oil Well Road, Rocky Peak Fire Road, Chumash Trail, and Evening Sky Road. See Google Earth route map below.

GeoTrek IV-G Route

Profile: On the profile below the start of the hike is on the left end. Because the hike followed a circular route, the elevation gain was 1,939 feet and the elevation loss was 1,939 feet.

GeoTrek IV-G Profile

Geology: The entire hike was on the Dibblee Santa Susana quadrangle (DF-38). Formations we saw included the Upper Cretaceous Chatsworth Formation, the Paleocene Santa Susana Formation, the Eocene Llajas Formation, the upper Eocene-lower Miocene Sespe Formation, the upper Miocene Calabasas and Monterey Formations, and the Pliocene Pico Formation. We also saw the Brugher Fault and the South Branch of Simi Fault. Depositional environments, stratigraphic problems, and structural history of the area were discussed.

GeoTrek IV-G Geology



PHOTOS TAKEN IN THE WESTERN SANTA
SUSANA MOUNTAINS ON GEOTREK IV-G

Photos taken by Gene Fritsche.

Click on the small picture to see an enlargement.

Group at Llajas Oil Field Group photo in the Llajas Oil Field by well #6. Left to right are Syrus Parvizian, Kris Kittleson, and Brian Swanson. Gene took the picture.
Llajas FormationExposure of the middle Eocene Llajas Formation, gray shale and mudstone ocean shelf deposits.
Looking for MicrofossilsThe Llajas Formation contains microfossils that were used to determine its medial Eocene age. Here the group is using hand lenses to see if they can see any of the microfossils. They were unsuccessful.
Llajas FormationTypical exposure of the gray, thin-beddded shale and mudstone of the Llajas Formation.
Calabasas FormationRoadcut exposure of the middle Miocene Calabasas Formation, a friable sandstone unit that was deposited in shallow ocean water.
Pico FormationCliff exposure on the north side of Llajas Canyon of the Pliocene Pico Formation, a fossiliferous sandstone and conglomerate, shallow-water, ocean deposit.
Pico ConglomerateCloseup view of a Pico Formation pebble conglomerate found in a boulder that had tumbled from the cliff in the previous photo. Note the angularity of the pebbles, which indicates a short distance of transport between the time of erosion and deposition.
Monterey FormationRoadcut exposure of the middle and upper Miocene Monterey Formation, a light brown, thin-bedded shale unit that was deposited in deep ocean water.
Las Llajas CanyonMonterey Formation exposed at road level and the Pico Formation exposed on the skyline in Las Llajas Canyon.
Shade in Las Llajas CanyonAn oak-shaded portion of the trail along the upper portion of Las Llajas Canyon.
Llajas Oil Field Well #6Remains of Well #6 in the abandoned Las Llajas Oil Field.
Llajas Oil Field Well #5Remains of Well #5 in the abandoned Las Llajas Oil Field. The small size of the well indicates that it was a very shallow well.
Llajas Canyon & Oil FieldLooking west across the abandoned Las Llajas Oil Field and down Las Llajas Canyon.
RattlesnakeThis rattlesnake was about 3 feet long and decided that retreat would be his/her best chioce.
Shark Tooth from Pico FormationThis shark tooth (Isurus sp.), found on the Rocky Peak Fire Road in two separate pieces, was eroded out of the Pliocene Pico Formation.
Pico/Brugher Fault/LlajasBrugher Fault contact along the Rocky Peak Fire Road between the middle Eocene Llajas Formation (top) and the Pliocene Pico Formation (bottom). Where would you put the fault contact? See next photo.
Pico/Brugher Fault/LlajasBlack line shows where Gene would place the Brugher Fault between the Llajas Formation and the Pico Formation. The rock above the black line for 5 to 6 inches has the color of the Pico Formation and the bedding nature of the Llajas Formation and is perhaps a narrow fault zone.
Llajas FormationRoadcut exposure on the Rocky Peak Fire Road of the middle Eocene Llajas Formation. Dark color and fossil content indicate deposition in a shelf environment.
Basal Pico FormationRoadcut exposure on the Rocky Peak Fire Road of the basal portion of the Pliocene Pico Formation, a very fossiliferous pebble conglomerate. Oyster, scallop, and barnacle fragments indicate deposition in a shallow upper shoreface environment under the influence of strong wave action.
Pico FossilsScallop (Pecten sp.) fossils in the basal portion of the Pliocene Pico Formation. Fossils such as these are used to determine the age of the formation.
No Shade at LunchWe searched for a shady spot for lunch, but our efforts proved fruitless. We settled for this spot on a ridge along the Rocky Peak Fire Road where there was a slight breeze.
Llajas/Pico  ContactAngular unconformity between the middle Eocene Llajas Formation and the Pliocene Pico Formation. Where would you place the unconformable contact? See next photo.
Llajas/Pico ContactBlack line is where Gene would place the contact. The younger Pico Formation above the angular unconformity is inclined gently toward the north (left). The Llajas Formation below the unconformity is inclined steeply toward the south (right) and is upside down. The oldest Llajas beds are on the right side of the exposure and the youngest ones on the left. During folding these Llajas beds were rotated more than 90 degrees and turned upside down.
Santa Susana FormationTypical roadcut exposure of the middle portion of the Paleocene Santa Susana Formation along the Rocky Peak Fire Road. The formation here consists of gray beds of mudstone and shale interbedded with orangish brown sandstone beds, indicative of an outer shoreface environment.
Santa Susana FormationAnother exposure of the Santa Susana Formation along Rocky Peak Fire Road. The alternating beds here are thicker and consist of shale and mudstone, sandstone, and conglomerate. The depositional environment here is likely in the upper shoreface.
Santa Susana CloseupCloseup of alternating sandstone and conglomerate beds in the Santa Susana Formation along Rocky Peak Fire Road. Note that the conglomerate clasts are subrounded to subangular and that the beds grade upward (left to right) from conglomerate to sandstone, indicating a decrease in depositional energy during deposition of the paired graded beds. Each of the pairs might indicate storm deposition and the reduction of energy as the storm wanes.
Simi Conglomerate Monkey Flower growing on an exposure of the basal Simi Conglomerate Member of the Paleocene Santa Susana Formation. The Simi Conglomerate was deposited along the shoreline as a fan delta in both marine and nonmarine environments. Note that the Santa Susana Formation, including the basal Simi Conglomerate Member, was deposited during a transgression of the shoreline over an erosional surface. Subsidence of the earth's surface during deposition produced shoreline deposits at the base of the formation, shoreface deposits in the middle, and shelf deposits at the top.
Simi Conglomerate/Chatsworth  ContactUnconformable contact between the Upper Cretaceous Chatsworth Formation on the right and the basal Simi Conglomerate Member of the Paleocene Santa Susana Formation on the left. It should be fairly easy to place the contact in this photo. In the next photo, see if your location for the contact matches Gene's.
Simi Conglomerate/Chatsworth  ContactBlack line is Gene's location for the unconformable contact. The contact is an unconformity because deposits of the uppermost part of the Cretaceous Period are missing. Note also that the unconformity and the deposits during folding have been rotated more than 90 degrees so that the youngest Llajas Formation is now underneath the older Chatsworth Formation; the deposits in this photo are upside down.
South Branch Simi FaultLooking west down the trace of the South Branch of the Simi Fault. The Chatsworth Formation is on the south (left) side of the fault and the Santa Susana Formation is on the north (right) side. The photographer was standing on the fault where it crosses the Rocky Peak Fire Road. Can you make an educated guess as to where the fault is? See next photo.
South Branch Simi FaultThe black line shows where Gene would place the fault if only this photo were available. Further field checking of the rocks would be required to make sure it is in the correct place.
Oat Mountain from Chumash TrailUpper end of the Chumash Trail near where it intersects the Rocky Peak Fire Road seen along the ridge in the middle ground. Arrow points to Oat Mountain toward the east, the highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains.
Chatsworth FormationTypical exposure of the Upper Cretaceous Chatsworth Formation. Resistant beds of coarse-grained sandstone alternate with less resistant beds of fine-grained sandstone and shale. The depositional environment for this formation was a deep-water, sand-rich submarine fan.
Simi Conglomerate/Chatsworth  ContactContact between the Upper Cretaceous Chatsworth Formation on the right and the Simi Conglomerate Member of the Santa Susana Formation on the left. Resistant beds of sandstone occur on both sides of the photo. The grassy area between the two resistant sandstone deposits are underlain by conglomerate. Thick deposits of conglomerate are not normally found in the Chatsworth Formation. So where would you place the contact between the two formations? See next photo.
Simi Conglomerate/Chatsworth  ContactArrows point to where Dibblee placed the contact on his map DF-38. Gene would place the contact at the base of the conglomerate as shown by the black line. Roberta Harma notes that the same apparent mislocation of the contact occurs in the eastern Simi Hills.


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THIS PAGE LAST MODIFIED ON JULY 8, 2011

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