·Geology of the Los Angeles Basin California-An Introduction
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~ ~ CJBRARW ~ tJ w; tf ~ ~ o v.. \.1 , rt ~I t t....ISRt'..!-".•., I ~ P 0 ~ A fH.. 11. 11 " 1i ~ ; JUN 31971 .1 J 0 ·Geology of the .. _;J- -.,..,_ ~ ~ ~t~A'S~ lfTtJRfi:a ~ ~0 ifBRAII ~ ~ ·~ 0 •o-4= Los Angeles Basin ltJ 00 ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ·00 California-an 5 .J -•o-4 ~ ·'¢ ~ I IZ4 0 Introduction ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ E-1 ·~ z GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 420-A .r .. ~z ~ ~ ~ 0 as: 00 ~ ~ 00 ~ ~ ~ t:.t:s IZ4· ~ 00 Q ~ -~ t:.t:s 0 ~ 0 ·~t:.t:s I· ~ ~ :3·o q; ~ ~ ~ ~ .~ GEOLOGY OF THE LOS ANGELES BASIN Isometric block diagram, basement surface of the Los Angeles basin. Contour interval is 1,000 feet; exposures of basement rocks are patterned; fault surfaces are hachured. Geology of the Los Angeles Basin California . an. Introduction By R. F. YERKES, T. H. McCULLOH, J. E. SCHOELLHAMER, and J. G. VEDDER GEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN LOS ANGELES BASIN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 420-A The evolution of a most prolific oil district and the framework for several detailed reports on its geology and gravitational aspects UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTONY: 1965 t:.tBRAR · 8URfAU OF UtM£1 L-IBRARY SPOkANI. WASH. ~ 31971 .-* o;mr ~ ttfASJ QfTfJIN ~0 UBRAR'C UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent o£ Documents, U.S. Government. Printing.Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Page A1 Stratigraphy of the basin-Continued IntroductionAbstract------------------------------------------- ______________________________________ _ 1 Superjacent rocks-Continued Los Angeles basin-definition ___________________ _ 1 Eocene rocks ______________________________ _ A28 Acknowledgments ______ --------________________ _ 2 Upper Eocene(?) to lower Miocene rocks ______ _ 28 Stratigraphic nomenclature _____________________ _ 3 Middle Miocene rocks ______________________ _ 30 Nomenclaturl:! of faults _________________________ _ 3 Lower sequence ________________________ _ 30 Bibliography of previous work ___________________ _ 3 Upper sequence ____________________ ----- 32 Regional setting of the basin ________________________ _ 12 Intrusive rocks ________________________ _ 34 Peninsular Ranges province_----------- _________ _ 13 Upper Miocene rocks _______________________ _ 34 Transverse Ranges province _____________________ _ 13 Eastern facies _________________________ _ 34 Geographic and geologic elements of the basin ________ _ 14. Western facies ______________________ ---- 37 Southwestern block __ ---------------~·--- _______ _ 14 Intrusive rocks ________________________ - 37 Northwestern block ____________________________ _ 14 Pliocene rocks ____________________________ -- 37 Central block _________________________________ _ 15 Lower sequence ________________________ _ 38 Northeastern block ____________________________ _ 15 Upper sequence _______ --- ______________ _ 41 Evolution of the basin ____ --------------- __ ----- ___ _ 16 Lower Pleistocene deposits __________________ _ 44 Predepositional phase-rocks of the basement com- Upper Pleistocene deposits __________________ _ 44 Recent deposits ____________________________ _ plex----------------------------------------- 16 46 Prebasin phase of deposition-Upper Cretaceous to Structure of the basin ______________________________ _ 47 lower Miocene rocks. _____ ------------------ __ 16 Southwestern block_---------------------------- 47 Basin-inception phase-middle Miocene rocks. ____ _ 17 Newport-Inglewood zone· of deformation __________ _ 47 Principal phase of subsidence and deposition-upper Central block _________________________________ _ 48 Miocene to lower Pleistocene rocks _____________ _ 17 Whittier fault zone _____________________________ _ 50 Basin-disruption phase-upper Pleistocene to Recent Northeastern block ____________________________ _ 50 strata--------------------------------------- 19 Santa Monica-Raymond Hill-Sierra Madre-Cuca- Stratigraphy of the basin ___________________________ _ 20 monga fault zone ____________________________ _ 51 Basement rocks _________ ---_- __________________ _ 21 Northwestern block _________ ----------_________ _ 51 Southwestern block ________________________ _ 21 Conclusions ______________ ----- ________________ _ 52 Northwestern block ____ ------_-- __ -_-------_ 21 Oil in the basin ____________________________________ _ 52 Central block _____________________________ _ 23 Production ____________________________________ _ 52 Occurrence ____________________________________ _ Northeastern block _____________ -- __ - _____ - _ 24 53 Superjacent rocks _________________ -- ___________ _ 24 Reserves--------------------------------------- 53 Upper Cretaceous rocks ____________________ _ 24 References cited ___________________________________ _ 55 Paleocene rocks _____ ----- __________________ _ 26 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] FRONTISPIECE. Isometric block diagram, basement surface of the Los Angeles basin. PLATE 1. Correlation chart of stratigraphic units, Los Angeles basin. 2. Diagram of composite sections, Los Angeles basin. 3. Panel diagram of the Los Angeles basin. 4. Generalized structure sections, Los Angeles basin. Page FIGURE 1. Map of area covered by this investigation----------------------------------------------------------- A2 2. Map of major structural features and contours on the basement surface-------------------------------- 4 3. Key to major structural featureS------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 4. Outline map of southern California showing geomorphic provinces __________ -:__________________________ 12 v VI CONTENTS FIGURE 5-11. Distribution maps of rock units: Page 5. Basementrocks-------------------------------------------------------------------------- A22 6. Upper Cretaceous rocks ____ ---------_-___ ---_-------_-_-_---------___ -_-------____________ 25 7. Paleocene and Eocene rocks _____ -----_------- _____________ -_----_----------------_________ 27 8. Upper Eocene(?) to lower Miocene rocks----~----------------------------------------------- 29 9. Middle Miocene rocks ___ --------- ______________ -_-_-----_-_------------------_--- __ - __ --- 31 10. Upper Miocene rocks _____ --------________ ----------------------- ____ ---------------______ 35 11. Lower Pliocene rocks_-------_-_-""-_.:. ___ .:._---_------ __ -_---------------_------- _____ --____ 39 12. Map showing lithofacies and thickness relations of lower Pliocene rocks _________ ,_______________________ 40 13. Diagram showing relation between thickness, water depth, and time during deposition of superjacent rocks_ 42 14. Map showing distribution of upper Pliocene rocks--------------------------------------------------- 43 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Relation between thickness, water depth, and subsidence during deposition of the superjacent rocks in the deep part of the central block, Los Angeles basin-------------------------------------------------- A41 2. Crude-oil production data and estimated reserves and ultimate recovery for the Los Angeles basin and the State of California _________________________________________________ -.-__________________________ 53 3. Crude-oil production data and estimated reserves and ultimate recovery, by geologic age of reservoir rocks, for 46 known Los Angeles basin oil fields-------------------------------------------------- 53 GEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN LOS ANGELES BASIN, SOUTHER.N CALIFORNIA GEOLOGY OF THE LOS ANGELES BASIN, CALIFORNIA-AN INTRODUCTION By R. F. YERKES, T. H. McCuLLOH, J. E.'SCHOELLHAMER, and. J. G. VEDDER ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION The present-day Los Angeles basin is a northwest-trending LOS ANGELES BASIN-DEFINITION alluviated lowlnnd plain about 50 miles long and 20 miles wide on the coast of southern California approximately between The present-day Los Angeles physiographic basin lat 33°30' and 34° N. and long 117°45' and 118°30' W. On the (index map, fig. 1) of coastal southern California is north, northeast, east, and southeast, the lowland plain is an alluviated lowland, sometimes called the "coastal bounded by mountains and hills that expose Mesozoic or older basement rocks and sedimentary and igneous rocks of Late plain (Mendenhall, 1905, p. 11), which is bounded on Cretaceous to late Pleistocene age. the north by the Santa Monica Mountains and the The physiographic basin is underlain by a deep structural Elysian, Repetto, and Puente I-Iills and on the east depression; the burled basement surface has relief of as much and southeast by the Santa Ana Mountains and San as 4.5 miles in a distance of 8 miles. Parts of this depression Joaquin Hills. The low land surface slopes gently have been the sites of discontinuous deposition since Late Cre taceous time and of continuous subsidence and deposition since south or seaward, but it is interrupted by the Coyote middle Miocene time. In middle Miocene time this depositional Hills near the northeast margin, by a line of elongated basin extended well beyond the margins of the present-day low hills and mesas to the south and west that extends physiographic basin. The term "Los Angeles basin" refers from Newport Bay northwest to Beverly Hills, and by herein to the larger area. the Palos Verdes peninsula at the southwest extremity. The geology is described in terms of four primary structural blocks, which, in part, have contrasting basement rocks and The physiographic basin is underlain by a struc superjacent sections and whose contacts are zones of faulting tural depression (figs. 2 ·and 3), parts of which have and