GEOTREK 3

GEOLOGY IN THE SANTA SUSANA MOUNTAINS:
EASTERN END

Monday, June 2, 2008

Geology: A conformable marine sequence beginning with the upper Miocene Monterey Shale, Sisquoc Shale, and Towsley Formation sandstone, followed by the Pliocene Pico Formation sandstone and finishing with the nonmarine Pleistocene Saugus Formation sandstone and conglomerate. Structures crossed include the Santa Susana fault, the Oat Mountain syncline, and the Pico anticline.

Pictures of geologic features seen along the trail are below the geologic map.

June 2 Geology

PICTURES OF GEOLOGY SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL

Click on the small picture to see an enlargement.


Monterey Shale(Map site 1.) Outcrop of the upper Miocene Monterey Formation. This rock unit is not very resistant and commonly is deeply weathered and covered by soil, making outcrops uncommon.
Monterey Shale Closeup(Map site 2.) Closeup of a shale exposure of the upper Miocene Monterey Formation. The shale is thinly laminated, but hard and blocky due to a high content of either calcite or quartz cement. The cement is produced by the dissolution of calcareous and/or siliceous microfossils that were deposited with the rock in a calm, deep ocean environment and the reprecipitation of the dissolved material as calcite or quartz cements in the pore spaces in the rock.
Sisquoc  Shale(Map site 3.) Exposure of shale of the upper Miocene Sisquoc Formation. Much farther to the west in Santa Barbara County the Sisquoc Formation consists mostly of diatomite and is easily distinguishable from the Monterey Formation, but in this area the two formations are very hard to distinguish.
Monterey Fold(Map site 4.) Tightly folded shale layers of the upper Miocene Monterey Formation. Shale in the Monterey Formation is easily deformed and exposures such as this one are common.
Sisquoc Turbidite(Map site 5.) Sandstone layers in the upper Miocene Sisquoc Formation. They were deposited by tubidity currents on the middle slopes of a large submarine fan. The base of one of the sandstone layers (index finger) starts with coarse sand grains that were deposited in a rapidly moving turbid current. As the current slowed down, parallel-laminated sand was deposited by a current entraining medium-size sand grains. Eventually the current was moving only fine sand grains and finally after the current stopped only darker silt and clay particles were deposited. This sand bed was deposited as a single event over a period of just a few hours.
Oat Mountain Syncline(Map site 6.) View looking northwest down the hinge of the Oat Mountain syncline. Beds of the Towsley Formation on the ridge to the left of the canyon are inclined downward toward the canyon. The same layers of the Sisquoc Formation on the ridge to the right of the canyon are also inclined downward toward the canyon. Between the two ridges the rocks are folded into a "U" shape. This type of fold is called a syncline.
Towsley Shale(Map site 7.) Shale beds of the Pliocene Towsley Formation. Most of the Towsley Formation is sandstone, but some portions of the formation contain shale as seen here.
Pico Anticline(Map site 8.) View looking west at the Pico anticline. Rock layers on the left side of the photo behind the central ridge are inclined downward toward the left edge of the photo. The same layers on the right side are inclined downward toward the right edge. When the rocks are folded into an arch, as seen here, the fold is called an anticline. Oil is produced from this anticline just west of this spot.
Towsley Turbidites(Map site 9.) Alternating sandstone and shale layers in the Pliocene Towsley Formation, which also was deposited on the mid-portions of a submarine fan (closeup in the next photo).
Towsley Turbidite Closeup(Map site 10.) Closeup of the alternating sandstone and shale layers deposited on the mid slopes of a submarine fan. The base of each sandstone bed is marked by deposition of parallel-laminated fine sand. The sand becomes finer grained as sand deposition continues until only silt and clay are being deposited after the currect comes to a stop.
Pico Formation(Map site 11.) Conglomerate and sandstone layers of the Pliocene Pico Formation. Note that the cobbles are subrounded to subangular, which indicates a medium to short distance of transport.

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THIS PAGE LAST MODIFIED ON JUNE 26, 2008

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