Volcanic Rocks of the El Modeno Area Orange County California
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Volcanic Rocks of the El Modeno Area Orange County California GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 274-L Volcanic Rocks of the El Modeno Area Orange County California By ROBERT F. YERKES SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 274-L Description of extrusive pyroclastic and flow rocks of El Modeno volcanics of middle to late Miocene age UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1957 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fred A. Seaton, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 31.00 (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Descriptive geology—Continued Page Abstract_________________________________________ 313 Igneous rocks—Continued Introduction- ____________________________________ 313 Associated igneous rocks—Continued Previous investigations- _____________________________ 314 Tuffaceous material in La Vida member of Localities from which samples were obtained __________ 314 Puente formation,____________________ 322 Descriptive geology----_---_---____----__ _________ 316 Summary of petrography. __________________ 323 Igneous rocks _ ________________________________ 316 Sedimentary rocks, Cenozoic system. _ ____________ 324 Tuffs of the Topanga formation _ _____________ 316 Silverado formation_________________________ 324 El Modeno volcanics_ ______________________ 316 Santiago formation__________________________ 325 Basalt flow member..___________________ 316 Vaqueros and Sespe formations, undifferentiated- 325 Palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member.. _ 319 Topanga formation__________________________ 326 General description. _______________ 319 Puente formation.__________________________ 326 Palagonite tuff breccias__________ ___ 319 Quaternary terrace deposits __________________ 326 Bedded palagonite tuff______________ 319 Stratigraphic position and correlation of the volcanic Andesite flow and flow breccia member_ ___ 320 rocks__ __________________________________________ 326 General description_________________ 320 Structure-_________________________________________ 327 Flow breccias _____________________ 320 Folds.-_______________________________________ 327 Lava flows_________________________ 320 Faults_________________________________________ 327 Hydrothermal alteration...__________ 321 Disconformities in the volcanic sequence.____ ______.. 327 Limy volcanic breccia_______________ 321 Mode of deposition of the volcanic rocks.______________ 327 Undifferentiated volcanic rocks.__________ 321 Subsurface data ____________________________________ 328 Andesite dikes--__-____-____________--_- 321 Distinction between extrusive and intrusive rocks___ 328 Associated igneous rocks.____________________ 322 Distribution of the volcanic rocks_______________ 328 Breccia- ___________________________ 322 References cited.___________________________________ 331 Basalt dikes__________________________ 322 Index_________________________________________ 333 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates 46 and 47 in pocket] PLATE 46. Geologic map of El Modeno area. 47. Structure sections, El Modeno area. Page FIGURE 55. Index map of southern California showing location of areas underlain by El Modeno and Glendora volcanics___ 314 56. Index map of eastern Los Angeles basin showing wells drilled into Miocene volcanic rocks.__________________ 315 57. Pillow structures in basalt flow member, Panorama Heights_______ _______________________________________ 317 58. Photomicrograph, basalt flow member______________________________________________________--_-_______ 317 59. Tuff breccia in palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member, Panorama Heights ________________________________ 319 60. Bedded palagonite tuff in palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member, Panorama Heights__.____________________ 319 61. Photomicrograph, bedded palagonite tuff, in palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member__-________ __________ 320 62. Lava block with radial and concentric cooling cracks, in andesite flow and flow breccia member, east-northeast of El Modeno____________________________________________________________________________________ 320 63. Photomicrograph, vesicular andesite in andesite flow and flow breccia member.____________________________ 321 64. Andesite dike cutting palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member, east-northeast of El Modeno __________-_-_--____ 322 65. Photomicrograph, porphyritic augite andesite in andesite flow and flow breccia member___________ __________ 322 66. Photomicrograph, tuff in La Vida member of Puente formation.__________________________________________ 323 IV CONTENTS TABLES Page TABLE 1. Petrography of tuffs of Topanga formation.________-_____-____--__-________-_-___-----___--_------------ 317 2. Petrography of basalt flow member________________________________-_________________________----------- 318 3. Petrography of tuffaceous sediments, La Vida member of Puente formation_______________________--_------_- 323 4. Log of wells drilled into volcanic rocks._______________________________________________________________ 329 A SHORTER CONTRIBUTION TO GENERAL GEOLOGY VOLCANIC ROCKS OF THE EL MODENO AREA, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA By ROBERT F. YERKES ABSTRACT Miocene age and are tentatively correlated with the The El Modeno volcanics form a series of extrusive pyroclastic Glendora volcanics (fig. 55). and flow rocks which crop out near El Modeno, Orange County, Calif. The volcanics have been divided into three members. The The detailed mapping of the volcanic rocks was basal unit is a basalt flow, which is overlain successively by a undertaken as part of the geologic mapping of the palagonite tuff and tuff breccia member and an andesite flow and west flank of the Santa Ana Mountains (Schoell- flow breccia member. The volcanics are products of both sub- hamer and others, 1954). In order to show details of aerial and submarine extrusion of materials of intermediate com the volcanic sequence, the geologic map which accom position. They are middle Miocene to early late Miocene in age and are tentatively correlated with the Glendora volcanics panies this report (pi. 46) has been prepared at a scale 25 miles to the northwest. The maximum outcrop thickness of 1 to 12,000. As shown on its index map, the geology of the volcanics is 850 feet. of adjacent areas was mapped by D. M. Kinney and The extrusive volcanic rocks may be distinguished from the J. G. Vedder. John S. Shelton of Pomona College middle Miocene intrusive rocks in this region by their vesicular loaned a collection of thin sections of rocks from well texture and characteristic alteration to crumbly, earthy masses. cores from which some of the data of table 4 was taken. The intrusive rocks are commonly coarser grained, hard and dense, commonly contain biotite, have an ophitic texture, and Cores from wells drilled for oil show that volcanic alter to chlorite-epidote-feldspar rocks. rocks similar to those of the El Modeno volcanics underlie the oil-bearing sedimentary rocks of the Puente INTRODUCTION formation of late Miocene age beneath a large part of The El Modeno volcanics are extrusive, largely pyro the eastern Los Angeles basin (fig. 56). In addition, clastic rocks, in part marine, that crop out in an eight- they show that the lowest part of the Puente formation square-mile area east of El Modeno, Orange County, and the pre-Puente sedimentary rocks are cut by in California, on the west flank of the Santa Ana Moun trusive rocks of similar composition. A petrographic tains. study of the El Modeno volcanics has been included in The volcanic rocks rest conformably upon the strata this investigation, partly to facilitate distinction be of the Topanga formation, which include at least two tween the extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks en thin tuff beds (tui on the geologic map, pi. 46). The countered in wells. El Modeno volcanics are made up of three members. The terminology of the pyroclastic rocks, including The lowest member is the basalt flow member (Terrify, the term palagonite, is the one proposed by Wentworth which rests upon sandstone beds of the Topanga forma and Williams (1932, p. 45-53). Chlorophaeite, a tion (middle Miocene) and includes at the top a thin widely used but ambiguous term, refers herein to a stratum of marine siltstone not differentiated on the green to brown alteration product of ferromagnesian map. This member has a maximum thickness of 200 minerals and glass in basaltic rocks. The composition feet. Overlying the basalt flow member is the palag of the feldspar has been determined in some rocks by onite tuff and tuff breccia member (Temt), which extinction-angle methods but in most cases by immer ranges from 125 to 450 feet in thickness. This tuffaceous sion of fragments in oils of known refractive index. member is overlain by the andesite flow and flow Special studies were made with the universal stage as breccia member (Tema , which has an average thick needed. The relative volumes of the constituents— ness of 200 feet. Locally overlying the andesite flow phenocrysts, groundmass, cavity fillings, and clastic and flow breccia member is the La Vida member of the grains—were obtained by the point-counter method of Puente formation (Tplv). Chayes (1949), except where otherwise noted, and are The El Modeno volcanics are of middle to late given as volume percentages of the whole rock. 313 314 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY 118°30' _____118°00' • OUTLINE MAP I- WITH LOCATION OF INDEX MAP 50 0 150 Miles