Ground-water Geology of the Coastal Zone Long Beach-Santa Ana Area, California GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1109 Prepared in cooperation with the Orange County F?nod Control District, the 0/jja^-t, iJvjgfey ff^ater District, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, and the Board of W^ater Commissioners of the city of Long Beach, all of California Ground-water Geology of the Coastal Zone Long Beach-Santa Ana Area, California By J. F. POLAND, A. M. PIPER, and others GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1109 Prepared in cooperation with the Orange County Flood Control District, the Orange County W^ater District, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, and the Board of W^ater Commissioners of the city of Long Beach, all of California STAT^J^OVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1956 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 A'nilng Office Washington 25. D. C. CONTENTS Page Abstract _ _ ___-____-___---_-__ -_-_______-----__--_-__-_.____..__ 1 Introduction. ______-__-__-__--___---_-_-_-__-______-_-..__-_____-.__ 4 Scope of the investigation___________--____________- _ _______ 4 Acknowledgments. ___-----__--_--_-------_---_________-____..__ 8 Numbers applied to wells by the Geological Survey_._____.-______. 9 Land forms of the coastal-plain area.___--___-_-___-___--_----_______ 11 General features..._-----__----_-_---------__-_________-_______ 11 Bordering highlands.______.__--__-_-__-_-________--__--.______ 12 Inland foothills___________._._.___.._ __. _ ... 13 Alluvial aprons adjacent to highlands and foothills. _____________ 14 Newport-Inglewood belt of hills and plains___----___-____-________ 16 Common genetic features--___------_------_-----_-_-_--____ 16 Pronounced uplifts along the axis_-_______--________-________ 19 Mesas and related plains-_-----_-__---_---_-_-___---_______ 23 Gaps___._____--___-.______________.___ 28 El Segundo sandhills.----------------- ___ 33 Downey Plain__-_.___._-_-__--_________________-__ _______ 34 Stratigraphy and general water-bearing characteristics of the rocks._____ 36 Sequence and general features---~_--_-____________---_-_--______ 36 Quaternary system.___________________________________________ 40 Recent series______--__-___-_-_____-__-_______-_-______-_ 40 Definition ____________--__-___-__-----___-_____-____-_ 40 Physical character and mode of origin.___________________ 40 General features___-_----_---_----_--_-_--____-___- 40 Upper division, inland from the coastal hills and mesas. 40 Marsh deposits and peat beds_____-_________________ 41 £* ' Beach deposits__----------_-------_--------_-_--_- 43 J_^-^ Extent and thickness of the upper division__________ 43 Lower division, Talbert and Gaspur water-bearing zon es_ 44 Lower division, minor water-bearing zones,___________ 45 General water-bearing features-_---_-_--_-----_---__-_-- 48 Pleistocene series------------------------------------------ 52 General features____--___---_-----------------_-----__- 52 Terrace cover and Palos Verdes sand___--______-_-_____ 52 Unnamed upper Pleistocene deposits.---_________________ 55 Character, thickness, and extent in the coastal zone of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area-___--___-_________ 55 Stratigraphic relations___--_____---------_---_-_-__. 58 Correlation with areas beyond the coastal zone________ 59 San Pedro formation___-_-_-_--__-----_-----_____-_-___ 60 Definition ________________________________________ 60 Representative exposed sections.__-_-______-__-_____ 62 Faunal data from outcrops and from wells-___________ 64 Physical character.__---------_--------__-----_____ 68 >_ m TV CONTENTS Stratigraphy and general water-bearing characteristics of the rocks Con. Quaternary system Continued Pleistocene series Continued San Pedro formation Continued Page Thickness.-__-___-________________________ 75 Environments of deposition________________________. 78 General water-bearing features______________________ 84 Tertiary system_______________________________________________ 86 Pliocene series___________________________________________ 86 Pico formation, upper division.. ________________________ 87 Physical character and thickness____________________ 87 Stratigraphic relations____________________________ 89 Water-bearing characteristics _______________________ 90 Pico formation, middle and lower divisions________________ 92 Older rocks of Tertiary age_________________________________ 92 Geologic structure_______-_____-___--____--__-_-_---_-_-___-_______ 93 Regional features._____________________________________________ 93 Newport-Inglewood structural zone._____________________________ 94 General features__-_____--__---__-----_--__----_--_----____ 94 Folds-.____._______________________________________ 96 Faults.--. ______________________________________ 97 Dominguez Hill area_________________________________ 97 Cherry-Hill fault..-.__-_______________________ 98 Northeast flank fault_________________________________ 99 Pickler fault.--.____________________________________ 99 Reservoir Hill fault---------_---------_------------_--_ 100 Seal Beach fault___-________--_-_-___-____---__________ 100 Faulting from Landing Hill to Huntington Beach Mesa____ 101 Faults on Huntington Beach Mesa and in Santa Ana Gap__ 102 Faults in Newport Mesa area______-__-___-_--___--___-_ 104 Zones of cementation in the Pleistocene rocks_________________ 104 Summary of geologic features related to ground-water regimen__________ 107 Regional bodies of ground water_________________________________ 107 General features of the principal fresh-water body _________________ 109 Displacement of saline connate water.______________,-£i______ . 109 Replenishment and circulation________________________J______ 111 Permeability and transmissibility of the water-bearing materials. 114 Chemical character-___-_--___-_____-__---_____---_________ 115 Origin of the sodium bicarbonate waters.._-___--_--__________ 118 Barrier effect of the Newport-Inglewood structural zone.___________ 119 Generalfeatures-_______-__-_-___---__--__--_----__________ 119 Alluvial deposits of Recent age_____-___-____-_-_---_________ 120 Deposits of Pleistocene age San Pedro formation_____________ 121 Discontinuities in water-bearing strata.__________________ 122 Structural traps____--________-________________________ 123 Zones of cementation __ ________________________________ 123 Upper division of the Pico formation____________________.____ 125 Rocks of the connate-water zone.______----_---_-___________ 126 Selected records of wells____________________________________________ 126 Literature cited___________________________________________________ 157 Index.___-_-___-_-._-__-_--___-__--_-__---_-____.___--___________ 161 CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [All plates in pocket] PLATE 1. Map of the coastal plain and its borders, showing extent of land-form elements. 2. Land-surface profiles along and across the Newport-Inglewood belt. 3. Geologic map of the coastal zone in the Long Beach-Santa Ana area, California, showing location of water wells. 4. Geologic sections. A-A', Along the Newport-Inglewood structural zone from Dominguez Hill to Newport Mesa; B-B', from Terminal Island through Dominguez Gap; C-C", across Signal Hill; D-D', from Newport Beach north­ ward across Newport Mesa. 5. Detailed sections in the Long Beach-Santa Ana area, a-a', From Landing Hill diagonally across Sunset Gap; b b', from Bolsa Chica Mesa to Huntington Beach Mesa; c-c' f through Santa Ana Gap. 6. Diagrammatic correlation of stratigraphic columns along the coastal zone of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area. 7. Map and geologic sections showing extent, thickness, and character of the Gaspur and Talbert water-bearing zones in the deposits of Recent age. 8. Map showing extent, altitude of base, and thickness of the Silverado water-bearing zone in the Long Beach area, Los Angeles County. FIGXTRE 1. Map of California showing area covered by this report and that covered by figure 2________________________________ 2. Generalized geologic map of the coastal plain and contiguous areas in Los Angeles and Orange Counties-_______________ CHART Page Stratigraphy of the coastal zone in the Long Beach-Santa Ana area______ 38 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Size analyses of the Hanford fine sandy loam in the Long Beach-Santa Ana area.__--___-___-----_---_______-___-_ 41 2. Percentage distribution of wells by depth ranges, in three mile- wide strips across Downey Plain.________________________ 49 3. Generalized log for well 4/12-28H1 (city of Long Beach, Ala- mitos well 9)________________________________________ 81 4. Materials penetrated by typical shallow observation wells in the coastal zone of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area_________ 127 5. Records of six deep observation wells on the coastal side of the Newport-Inglewood structural zone___---_-_________-_____ 132 6. Materials penetrated by typical water-supply wells in the coastal zone of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area.___________ 135 GROUND-WATER GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL ZONE, LONG BEACH-SANTA ANA AREA, CALIFORNIA By J. F. POLAND, A. M. PIPER, and others ABSTRACT This paper is the first chapter of a comprehensive report on the ground-water features in the southern part of the coastal plain in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, Calif., with special reference to the effectiveness of the so-callec? coastal barrier the Newport-Inglewood structural zone in restraining landward move­ ment of saline water. The coastal plain in Los Angeles and