AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF

Douglas Christopher Seedorf for the degree of Master of Science

in the Department of Geology presented on December 10, 1982

Title: Upper Cretaceous through Eocene Stratigraphy of the

Southern Ventura Basin, Caliia

Abstract approved:Dr. Robertg. Yeats

Surface and subsurface data indicate that Cretaceous strata

in the southern Ventura basin are part of the northward prograding

Chatsworth submarine fan. The fan extends westward as far as

Trancas Beach in the Santa Monica Mountains and wells in the

Oxnard Plain and on Oak Ridge. The eastern edge of the fan is

constrained by wells in western San Fernando Valley which contain

fine-grained strata which may have been deposited east of the

Chatsworth fan. The Nonmarine Simi Conglomerate overlies the

Cretaceous and is itself overlain by Paleocene marine beach sand-

stone and siltstone. These marine strata do not extend eastward

into the San Fernando Valley. The lower Paleocene and Cretaceous

strata were overlapped by the upper Paleocene Santa Susar1a and

middle Eocene Liajas Formations. Sedimentation patterns for the

Santa Susana and Llajas may be explained by two models: (1) A

northwest-trending submarine ridge on which muds and silts were

deposited, was flanked on the northeast and southwest by troughs

receiving deep-water sands. (2) Both formations were deposited

on a southwest-facing shelf, slope, and turbidite trough. Sub-

surface data important in basin analysis include 1) bathyal paleo-

Redacted for Privacy

bathymetry for the entire Santa Susana, 2) sand channels in the

Santa Susana which possibly funneled sediment westward down a

submarine slope, 3) shelf-facies(?) Eocene strata with neritic

to upper bathyal paleobathyrnetry in Oxnard Plain, and 4) Liajas

fades in northern Simi Valley suggesting gradation upward from a

shallow marine to outer shelf or slope environment. Facies cor-

relations across the Sirni fault indicate no large-scale post-

Paleogene strike-slip displacement. If these sequences were

rotated, as suggested by paleomagnetic data, the restored Cretace-

ous fan would come from the east and the restored Paleocene shore-

line would face south. Thus paleogeography for the Cretaceous is

simplified by the rotation hypothesis, but Paleocene paleogeography

is made more complicated.

UPPER CRETACEOUS THROUGH EOCENE STRATIGRAPHY OF THESOUTHERN VENTURA BASIN, CALIFORNIA

by

Douglas Christopher Seedorf

A THESIS

submitted to

Oregon State University

in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the

degree of

Master of Science

Completed December 10, 1982

Commencement June 1983

APPROVED:

Prof es'or and Chairman of teology in charge of major

Dean of Graduaf School

Redacted for Privacy

Redacted for Privacy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION 1

Statement of Problem 1

Methods 1

Acknowledgements 4

STRATIGRAPHY OF THE SIMI VALLEY OUTCROP SECTIONS 7

Chatsworth Formation 7

Pre-Santa Susana Undifferentiated Strata 9

Santa Susana Formation 11

Liajas Formation 13

Sespe Formation 15

STRATIGRAPHY OF OTHER OUTCROP AREAS 16

Simi Valley-West End 16

Northwestern San Fernando Valley 16

Newhall 17

Santa Monica Mountains 17

SUBSURFACE STRATIGRAPHY 21Simi Valley 21

Northwestern San Fernando Valley 24

Santa Susana Mountains 27

Newhall 27

Oak Ridge 28

Oxnard Plain 29

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 31

REFERENCES CITED 45

APPENDIX 52

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

I Index map of the southern Ventura basin 2

2 Stratigraphic chart showing biostratigraphic 5

zonation applied to the northern Simi Valleysection

3 Base map of southern Ventura basin 8

4 Location map of the Frew and Santa Susana 26

faults

5 Distribution of surface Cretaceous rocks 32

6 Distribution map of the Sitni Conglomerate 34

7 Extent of pre-Santa Susana marine Paleocene 36

strata and the overlapping of the SantaSusana Formation

8 Distribution map of the Santa Susana 37

Formation

9 Distribution map of the Liajas Formation 40

10 Post Paleogene rotation of the southern 43Ventura basin

LIST OF PLATES

Plate

I Paleocene and Eocene geology of the SimiValley area, Ventura basin, California

II Stratigraphic Section A-A'

III Stratigraphic Section B-B'

IV Stratigraphic Section C-C'

V Stratigraphic Section D-D'

Vi Structure Section E-E'

VII Structure Section F-F'

VIII Stratigraphic Section G-G'

IX Stratigraphic Section H-H'

X Stratigraphic Section I-I'

XI Stratigraphic Section J-J'

XII Stratigraphic Section K-K'

Pocket

UPPER CRETACEOUS THROUGH EOCENE STRATIGRAPHY OF THESOUTHERN VENTURA BAS IN, CALIFORNIA

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Problem

Basin analysis of Paleogene strata in California leads to the

conclusion that Paleogene basins follow a far different configu-

ration than Neogene basins or present-day topographic lowlands

(Yerkes and others, 1965; Yeats, 1968, 1976; Chipping, 1972;

NilserL and Clarke, 1973, 1975; Yeats and others, 1974). Most of

the basin analysis of the Paleogene of southern Ventura basin is

based upon the outcrop section in the eastern Sitni Valley (Fig. 1)

with little attention paid to subsurface geology. The Paleogene

outcrops in Simi Valley are not represerLtative of much of the

Paleogene in the subsurface of the southern Ventura basin. This

paper extends the basin analysis of this sequence by considering

not only the surface exposures in the Simi Valley (Plate I), but

also the subsurface control as based upon wells in which the

structure has been resolved and stratigraphic thic1esses, lith-

ologies, and ages are relatively clear-cut.

Methods

Paleocene and Eocene outcrop localities, including Solstice

and Elsmere Canyons and the Simi Valley, were field checked during

the suimner of 1981. The geologic map of the Simi Valley area was

CALIFORNIA

THOUSAND rCH=RTNPLAIN

RVOIR

SAN FERNANDOVENTURA Co. VALLEY

SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS

NMN 77 SOLSTICE CYN.

TOPANGA CYN.

If I.Qc6fc

MALIBU COASTSCALE

340Miles

Draft in by Edwin RHowesII91Figure I. Index map of southern Ventura basin. Paleocene and Eocene rocks are shown in stippled pattern,

(utter Jennings and Strand, 1969).

3

compiled and revised based upon this field reconnaissance and the

mapping of other workers cited on Plate I. Samples from the

California Well Sample Repository at Cal. State Bakersfield were

examined and used in well descriptions (see Appendix). Data for

over 150 wells, including electric and dipineter logs, well his-

tories, core, sidewall, and ditch sample descriptions, and paleon-

tology reports were obtained from the Division of Oil and Gas and

several different oil companies. The well data were used in con-

structing 11 stratigraphic sections. In most cases, subsurface

formation boundaries were based upon previously constructed

published and unpublished structure sections (for example see Lant,

1977; Shields, 1977; Hanson, 1981).

Paleogene basin analysis required the removal of post-Llajas

structure, including major deformation in the early Miocene, mid-

dle Miocene, late Miocene, and Pliocene-Quaternary. This removal

was accomplished by constructing stratigraphic sections using the

base of the late Eocene to early Miocene nonmarine Sespe Formation

as a datum. Where the base of the Sespe is not present, or where

its stratigraphic position could not be estimated accurately, the

base of the middle Eocene Llajas Formation was used as a datum;

where the Llajas is absent, the base of the Tertiary was used.

The stratigraphic sections show true thicknesses from the youngest

strata in the well upsection to the base of the Sespe for those

wells that spudded in below that datum. True thicknesses are

shown for all outcrop sections. Well logs in the stratigraphic

sections show apparent thicknesses and the angle between the well

4

bore and the poie to bedding. The true thickness is the product

of the well-log apparent thickness and the cosine of this angle.

Paleontological data for wells are based upon company and

consultant reports. For those wells with conflicting paleonto-

logical data (for example, see Porter Estate 81-16, Sections G-G',

}i-H', Plates VIII, IX), lithology and electric-log characteristics

were used in an attempt to resolve the biostratigraphic conflicts.

In several cases, faunal reports were not age-diagnostic, or the

samples were possibly contaminated by sidewall cavings. These

considerations were taken into account when selecting lls for

basin analysis.

Figure 2 presents a summary of the megafossil and microfossil

subdivisions used in the Simi Valley. Nost dates reported on

stratigraphic sections are reported as Pacific Coast microfaunal

stages based upon benthic foraminifers. On the basis of planktic

foraminifer zonation, Poore (1980) suggested that these benthic

foraminifer stages may be time-transgressive over a large area.

The southern Ventura basin is probably too small an area to evalu-

ate this possibility, and individual benthic foraminifer stages

are assumed to be time-equivalent throughout the area. No attempt

was made in this study to evaluate the fossil assemblages on which

paleontological interpretations of age or bathymetry were based.

Acknowledgements

Support for this study was supplied by 1) a Tenneco Fellowship

COLUMNARPACIFIC COAST

PROVINCIALBE1Tusr irIQM"'I"

PLANKTICFORAMINIFERAL

FORMATIONS SECTION MOLLUSCAN STAGES ZONES STAGES ZONESCLAR1< a VOXES (1936) LAIMING (1939)

DGMALLORY (1959) SCHMIDT (1970)

FINCH (1970)SIMI VALLEY RD(?52)BIA

LLAJAS ULATISIANFORMATION

DOMENGINE BI

CONGLOMERATEB-3

--?-----?-----?---?---

p5CAPAY

CSANTA MEGANOS PENUTIAN

0SUSANA

BULITIANFORMATIONp4

CONGLOMERATE k

MARTINEZ EMARINE FAdES

YNEZIANPRESANTA

SUSANA OUNDIFF.

Figure 2. Stratigraphlc chart showing biostratigraphic zonatlon applied to theSimi Valley. Modified from Schmidt (1970).

Ut

awarded to Oregon State University, 2) a suuner grant from Arco

Oil and Gas Company, and 3) by additional funds provided to Dr.

Robert S. Yeats by MCOR Oil and Gas Company. I thank Dr. Yeats

for his support, advice, and patience throughout this project. I

also received help and advice from Leonard Stitt and Kevin Lant

of Conoco, Robert Diem, Stuart Kessling, and Don Sherman of Texaco,

and Mark Filewicz and Ed Hall of Union.

Alan Niem, Keith Oles, Richard Squires, and Bob Yeats

critically reviewed the thesis. Mike Kuhn and Orrin Sage of Simi

Valley helped tue obtain aerial photographs and access to private

land in the Simi Hills, Harold Weber provided me with his unpub-

lished map of the westernmost Simi Hills, and Jack Tucker assisted

me at the California Core Repository. Edwin Howes drafted the

illustrations, and Therese Belden typed the manuscript.

'A

STRATIGRAPHY OF THE SIMI VALLEY OUTCROP SECTIONS

Chatsworth Formation

Cretaceous strata in the Simi Valley originally were cor-

related to the "Chico Formation" by Waring (1914, 1917) and Kew

(1924) based upon the similarity of an assemblage of Cretaceous

tnegafossils to those of the Chico Formation of northern California

rather than their lithologic similarity to and stratigraphic con-

tinuity with a type locality. Colburn, Saul, and Almgren (1981)

renamed the Cretaceous sequence in the Simi Valley the Chatsworth

Formation, and they designated a type section along Woolsey and

Black Canyons in the Simi Hills (Plate I, Fig. 3). Link (1981)

characterized the Chatsworth Formation as a turbidite sequence

composed largely, but not exclusively, of sandstone and inter-

bedded hemipelagic mudstone. This sequence was deposited on an

east- to northeast-trending paleoslope with north- to northwest-

oriented channels (Trembly and Kraemer, 1981) as part of the

Chatsworth deep-sea fan (Colburn, 1981; Colburn, West, and Carey,

1981; Link, 1981).

The Chatsworth Formation is referred to the upper Campanian

through the lower Maestrichian stages as based upon molluscan

fossils and benthic foraminifers (Popenoe, 1973; Colburn, Saul,

and Alingren, 1981). The Chatsworth Formation was correlated to

the "E-zone" of Goudkoff (1945) by Colburn, Saul, and Alingren

(1981) on the basis of agglutinated foraminifers found throughout

the sequence in the Simi Hills.

65:. .66I

68 1 I42

64

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69I i

SBSE

3J.z1

(2IS. ilSA.

78 SG'°jO.5: 8302677 i,-.:: 27,._- BLC 5

C, 46+++ TpC +373+_?

389.

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Los AngelesCo.j I

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19W1 I

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MILES

TJC

Drottin by Edwin R. Howe.

Figure 3. ie map of southern Ventura basin. Well names numbered alpabetically, see appendix for listing. Outcrop localities asfollows; Black-Woolsey Cyn.-8WC, Blind Cyn. - BLC, Bus Cyn.- BC, Carbon Cyn - CBC; Chatswo,th Reservoir-

CR1 Elsmere Cyn.- EC Long Cyn.-L ,Meier Cyn.- MC3 east of Meior Cyn.-EMC, Montgomery Cyn. - MGC, Oak Cyn.-0C1Poison Oak Cyn.-POC Runkle Cyn.-RC Solstice Cyn.-SOC SquIres' (1981) sectionsSA SB SC SE asG Sycamore Cyn.SYC,Tapo Cyn.-TPC Topango Cyn.-TC,Tuno CYfl.-TUC,Ond West End-WE.

The Chatsworth Formation is overlain disconformably by the

Sirni Conglomerate at the type section (Colburn, Saul, and Almgren,

1981), and in northeastern Simi Valley. Elsewhere in the Simi

Valley, the unconformity with the overlying Paleocene has been

reported as angular (Fantozzi, 1955; Sage, 1971).

Pre-Santa Susana undifferentiated strata

The lower Tertiary strata in the Simi Valley were originally

referred to the "Martinez Formation" by Kew (1919, 1924), based

upon the mapping and fossil collections of Waring (1917). Nelson

(1925) divided the "Martinez Formation" into the Simi Conglomerate

and the overlying Las Virgenes Sandstone. Fantozzi (1955) inform-

ally proposed the name "Calabasas Formation" to replace the

"Martinez Formation" because the Martinez correlation is based

upon an assemblage of fossils rather than its lithologic similar-

ity to and stratigraphic continuity with a type locality. Sage

(1973) divided the "Calabasas Formation" into three members, the

Simi Conglomerate, Las Virgenes Sandstone, and Burro Sandstone.

Subsequently, the U.S. Geological Survey adopted the name "Cala-

basas" as a formation name for middle Miocene strata overlying the

Conejo Volcanics in the Santa Monica Mountains (Yerkes and Camp-

bell, 1979), and so the name is no longer used for the Paleocene

of the Simi Valley. The sequence is referred to in this study as

the "pre-Santa Susana undifferentiated" (Plate I); it includes the

Simi Conglomerate and marine Paleocene strata below Zinsmeister's

(1974) upper boundary of the Las Virgenes Sandstone (marine fades

10

in Fig. 2).

The Simi Conglomerate consists of a pebble- to boulder-

conglomerate in a sandstone matrix. West of the Simi Peak fault

(Plate I), the Simi Conglomerate is overlain by a one-meter--thick,

red pisolitic claystone which may have been deposited in a lagoon-

al environment (Sage, 1973). This claystone is probably correla-

tive to the Claymont Clay first described in the Santa Ana Moun-

tains by Roth (1958). The marine Paleocene interfingers with

and overlies the Simi Conglomerate and consists of brown-gray,

fine- to coarse-grained fossiliferous siltstone, sandstone, and

congloineratic sandstone. Paleocurrent and petrographic data sug-

gest the Simi Conglomerate was deposited by a southwest-flowing

braided river and alluvial fan system that grades upward into a

nearshore or beach deposit (marine Paleocene) composed of reworked

Simi Conglomerate clasts (Sage, 1973; Zinsmeister, 1974).

The pre-Santa Susana Tertiary in the Simi Valley is corre-

lated to the provincial inegainvertebrate "Martinez Stage" as based

upon mollusks (Browning, 1952; Mallory, 1959; Zinsmeister, 1974)

and to the Ynezian Stage and Laiming "E" zone as based upon

benthic foraminifers (Browning, 1952; Mallory, 1959; Janes, 1976)

(Fig. 2).

The contact between the pre-Santa Susana Tertiary and the

overlying Santa Susana. Formation was reported by Zinsmeister

(1974) as disconformable in Meier Canyon. Browning (1952) and

Janes (1976) found also the contact to be disconformable in Poison

Oak Canyon, whereas Finch (1980) reported a conformable contact in

Bus Canyon.

Santa Susana Formation

11

Nelson (1925) divided the lower Tertiary strata of the Sirni

Valley into the Simi Conglomerate, Las Virgenes Sandstone, Martinez

Marine Member, and the Santa Susana Shale. Zinsmeister (1974)

showed that beds of concretionary sandstone of the Martinez Marine

Member were actually sandstone tongues interbedded with siltstone

and mudstone of the Santa Susana Formation. In this study, the

Santa Susana Formation is divided into a sandstone and conglomer-

ate member and a member which consists of thin bedded, blue-gray

mudstone, siltstone, and gray-brown silty sandstone. The Santa

Susana records outer shelf and slope deposition in a subsiding

basin at lower neritic to upper bathyal depths in an open ocean

environment (Browning, 1952; Schmidt, 1970; Zinsmeister, 1974;

Janes, 1976; Finch, 1980). Zinsmeister (1974) recognized alter-

nating sandstone and siltstone tongues on the south side of the

Simi Valley. However, these tongues could not be traced in the

subsurface very far from the outcrop.

Clark and Vokes (1936) assigned the Santa Susana siltstone

below the Santa Susana Conglomerate to the "Martinez Stage" based

upon inegafossils. The Santa Susana strata overlying the silt-

stone were referred to the "Meganos Stage." This correlation is

based upon the occurrence of in situ "Meganos" fauna found in the

upper 300 feet of the Santa Susana in Poison Oak Canyon. Browning

(1952), Fantozzi (1955), and Zinsmeister (1974) reported the oc-

12

currence of "Martinez Stage" fauna well within the Santa Susana

Formation. Thus, the upper boundary of the "Martinez Stage" is

incorrectly placed in the Simi Valley by Clark and Vokes (1936),

and it should be changed to include the lower part of the Santa

Susana Formation as well as the pre-Santa Susana Tertiary. A

revised boundary based upon Browning's (1952) data is shown in

Figure 2.

Laiming (1939) used the Santa Susana Formation in the Simi

Valley to establish a provisional foraminiferal zonation for the

lower Tertiary in California. He divided the Santa Susana into

the "E," "D," "C," "B-4," and "B3" zones, in ascending order.

Browning (1952) extended Laiming's "E" zone up into the middle

Santa Susana and suggested that the upper part of the formation

could be correlated to the "D," "C," and "B-4" zones. The "B-4"

and "C" zones may represent faunas displaced from coeval shallow-

water sediments (M. V. Filewicz, written commun., 1982). Based

upon both tnegafossil and microfossil evidence, Mallory (1959)

correlated the Santa Susana Formation to his upper Ynezian,

Bulitian, and Penutian Stages. Schmidt (1970), Janes (1976), and

Finch (1980) correlated the Santa Susana to the P4 and PS zones of

Blow (1969) based upon planktic foraminifers. The upper Santa

Susana has also been correlated to the Discoaster multiradiatu-

Discoaster diastypus zone based upon nannofossils (M. V. Filewicz,

written coimnun., 1982).

Laiming (1939) correlated his "C," "B-4," "B-3," and "B-2"

zones to the Capay Stage of Clark and Vokes (1936), and Mallory

13

(1959) assigned the upper Santa Susana to the Penutian Stage,

which he considered to be correlative to the megainvertebrate

Capay Stage. Thus, besides the misplaced "Martinez Stage" bound-

ary mentioned above, there is a discrepancy between the inicrofos-

sil and megafossil correlations of the upper Santa Susana Forma-

tion. Schmidt (1970) suggested that the problem could be the

result of one or a combination of the following possibilities:

1) a mis-correlation of fauna to one of the zonation schemes; 2)

an incorrect original correlation between megafossil and microfos-

sil zonations; 3) the biostratigraphic units in one or both clas-

sifications may be facies-dependent and time-transgressive.

The contact between the Santa Susana Formation and the over-

lying Llajas Formation is reported as disconformable in Chivo

Canyon (Squires, 1981) and Bus Canyon (Finch, 1980), and confcrm-

able in Bus, Oak, and Montgomery Canyons (Howell, 1974), and in

Poison Oak Canyon (Browning, 1952; Grier, 1953; Janes, 1976)

(Plate I, Fig. 3). Nannofossil assemblages, considered together

with other faunas, suggest a hiatus of 3 m.y. between the Santa

Susana and overlying Llajas, encompassing most of the early Eocene

(N. V. Filewicz, written coniinun., 1982).

Llajas Formation

The Llajas Formation was first described by Waring (1917) and

Kew (1919, 1924) as the "Tejon Formation" and then later as the

"Meganos Formation." The name "Llajas Formation" was first used

informally by Schenck (1931) and NcMasters (1933). Cushman and

14

McMasters (1936) formally named the Llajas Formation and desig-

nated a type section in Las Liajas Canyon. They also described

the Liajas in cores from the Getty Tapo 42 well (Plate I).

In this report, the Liajas is divided into a basal conglonier-

ate and an overlying undifferentiated sequence of light-brown to

gray very fine- to fine-grained sandstone. At its type locality,

the Llajas was deposited as a transitional alluvial to marine

sequence (Squires, 1981). Howell (1974) and Squires (1981) cited

faunal and sediinentological evidence to suggest deposition of the

Liajas in water depths that varied from neritic to upper bathyal.

Howell (1974) measured imbricate clast orientations in the basal

conglomerate which indicate a westward direction of flow. Yeats

and others (1974) reported data from the Liajas sandstone in

western Siini Hills which indicate a northward sediment transport

direction. Squires (1981) mentioned that paleocurrent data are

random in the lower shallow marine part of the sequence on the

north side of Simi Valley.

Clark and Vokes (1936) assigned the Llajas Formation to the

provincial megainvertebrate "Capay" and "Domengine" stages based

upon mollusks (Fig. 2). Laiming (1939) correlated the Llajas

with his "B-3" through "B-lA" foraminiferal zones. Mallory (1959)

correlated the basal conglomerate of the Llajas with the upper

Penutian Stage and stated that the remaining Liajas belonged to

the iJlatisian Stage. New data, including nannofossils, suggest

an early middle Eocene age for the Liajas (M. V. Filewicz, written

commun., 1982).

15

The contact between the Liajas Formation and the overlying

Sespe Formation was reported to be conformable in Bus, Montgomery,

and Oak Canyons (Howell, 1974) and in the Simi oil field (Stipp,

1943). On the other hand, Kew (1924) reported an unconformable

contact between the two formations, Hetherington (1957) found the

contact to be disconformable in Tapo Canyon, and Squires (1981)

found that the contact is unconformable in the Las Liajas Canyon

area (Fig. 3).

Sespe Formation

The lower part of the Sespe Formation found in the Simi

Valley area is composed of nonmarine multicolored sandstone and

siltstone with interbeds of pebble- to cobble-conglomerate (Kew,

1924; Bailey, 1947; Fan, 1963; McCracken, 1972). Itnbricate clasts

in the lower Sespe indicate northwestward sediment transport

(Yeats and others, 1974). The Sespe Formation ranges in age from

late Eocene (Uintan) to early Miocene (Arikareean) as based upon

vertebrate fossils (Stock, 1932).

16

STRATIGRAPHY OF OTHER OUTCROP AREAS

Simi Valley-West End

Most of the published work on Simi Valley Paleogene strati-

graphy describes the sequence which crops out on the north side of

the valley and on the south side of the valley as far west as Bus

Canyon (Fig. 3, Plate I). West of Bus Canyon, formation bound-

aries are less well defined due to cover. Some mapping has been

completed in the west (Maclvor, 1955; Zinsmeister, 1974; F. H.

Weber, in progress; R. Squires, in progress), but biostratigraphy

is incomplete. Zinsmeister (1974) mapped interbedded sandstone

and siltstone tongues of the Santa Susana Formation to the western

end of the Paleogene outcrop. However, due to poor exposure in

the area, it is not clear whether the Santa Susana actually be-

comes sandier westward or if the Llajas Formation thickens appreci-

ably. Zinsmeister (1974) suggested that the increase in sandstone

indicates a source area to the southwest. This interpretation is

in conflict with paleocurrent data found in Poison Oak Canyon

(Janes, 1976) which indicate a source area to the southeast.

Northwestern San Fernando Valley

"Martinez Formation" conglomerate is mapped overlying Cretace-

ous strata on the northeast edge of Chatsworth Reservoir in the

Blind Canyon area, and just east of Brown's Canyon (Figs. 1, 3)

(Evans and Miller, 1978). Descriptions of the lithology and the

fauna which include Turritella pachecoensis (Evans and Miller,

17

1978), suggest that these may be Santa Susana conglomerate rather

than the Simi Conglomerate, which is nonmarine. The possibility

that conglomerate within the Santa Susana contains abundant clasts

reworked from the Simi Conglomerate further complicates the problem.

Newha 11

The oldest exposed sedimentary rocks in the Newhall area

are an Eocene sequence which crops out in Elsmere Canyon (Fig. 1).

The outcrops consist of a sequence of blue-gray siltstone and

claystone overlain by light-brown to gray, fine- to medium-

grained, thick-bedded arkosic sandstone. This sequence is cor-

related to the type Llajas Formation in Sitni Valley as based upon

megafauna (Oakeshott, 1958; Winterer and Durham, 1962).

North of Newhall and along the San Gabriel fault in the

vicinity of San Francisquito Canyon, strata of Late Cretaceous

and Paleocene age crop out. These strata are named the San Fran-

cisquito Formation (Sage, 1973; Kooser, 1982). Palinspastic

reconstruction of Paleocene paleogeography, which involves remov-

ing large-scale right-slip displacement along the San Gabriel

fault, indicates that the San Francisquito Formation was deposited

far away from the Elsmere Canyon sequence and the Simi Valley

(Sage, 1973); hence, it is not considered further in this paper.

Santa Monica Mountains

Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene strata are exposed in

several canyons on the south flank of the Santa Monica Mountains

III

north of the Malibu Coast fault (Figs. 1, 3). The Tuna Canyon

Formation of Late Cretaceous age consists of a sequence of thick-

bedded, graded and laminated beds of coarse-grained arkosic sand-

stone deposited by turbidity currents, with interbeds of fossil-

iferous sandstone and siltstone (Yerkes and Campbell, 1979).

Megafossil collections from the Tuna Canyon Formation are assigned

to the upper Turonian through lower Maestrichtian Stages (Wilson,

1942; Champeny, 1961).

Disconformably overlying the Tuna Canyon Formation in Sol-

stice Canyon is a thick-bedded sandy conglomerate overlain by a

red sandy pisolitic claystone. This unit is correlated to the

Simi Conglomerate (Yerkes and Campbell, 1979) and was deposited in

a braided-stream environment (Sage, 1973). The pisolitic clay-

stone is probably correlative to the Claymont Clay of the Santa

Ana Mountains.

Overlying the Sitni Conglomerate in Solstice Canyon, and over-

lying the Tuna Canyon Formation east of Solstice Canyon, is a se-

quence of Paleocene conglomerate, claystone, and sandstone named

the Coal Canyon Formation by Yerkes and Campbell (1979). In the

Santa Monica Mountains, Sage (1973) separated these Paleocene

strata into three different depositional environments. East of

Topanga Canyon (Figs. 1, 3), poorly sorted conglomerate and sand-

stone in the lower part of the section were deposited as a south-

west-flowing submarine or alluvial fan. The upper part of the

section is characterized by thick bedded sandstone and shale over-

lain by discontinuous lenses of algal limestone, indicating a

19

shallow-marine environment.

To the west in Topanga, Tuna, and Carbon Canyons, Sage (1973)

interpreted the sequence as submarine fan or channel deposits

where deposition took place at neritic depths based upon in situ

inegafossils including Turritella pachecoensis and Mesalia martinez-

ens is.

Farther to the west in Solstice Canyon, micaceous sandstone

and claystone overlying the Simi Conglomerate are also referred to

the Coal Canyon Formation by Yerkes and Campbell (1979). These

beds contain neritic fauna, plant fragments, fining-upward sequen-

ces, trough cross-bedding, and discontinuous claystone and peaty

shale beds. Sage (1973) inferred meandering river and lagoonal

deposition in the lower part of the sequence, and shoreline and

shallow marine deposition in the upper part.

Paleocurrent trends for the Paleocene in the Santa Monica

Mountains indicate a source area to the northeast and east (Sage,

1973). Sage (1973) also noted that 1) maximum average clast size

decreases to the west and upsection; 2) clast sorting improves to

the west; 3) pebble:sand and sand:rnud ratios decrease to the west;

and 4) the amount of carbonaceous material in the sandstone de-

creases upsection and to the west.

These data present problems when trying to explain why the

Sirni Conglomerate is missing from the sections east of Solstice

Canyon and also why greater water depths of deposition are en-

countered eastward.

It is suggested that the Sirni Conglomerate and the lower part

20

of the Coal Canyon Formation in Solstice Canyon are not time

equivalent to the Coal Canyon Formation east of Solstice Canyon.

Although "Martinez Stage" rnegafossils are found throughout the

Coal Canyon Formation, it seems probable that the lower part of

the sequence in Solstice Canyon is correlative to the pre-Santa

Susana Paleocene of the Simi Valley, whereas the strata east of

Solstice Canyon are correlative to the lower Santa Susana Forma-

tion. This overlapping relationship with the Santa Susana is

identical to that proposed for the Simi Valley (see discussion

and conclusions and Fig. 6).

The middle Eocene presumed Liajas Formation in Solstice

Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains (Yerkes and Campbell, 1979)

comprises a sequence of siltstone, sandstone, and conglomeratic

sandstone which represents a shallow-marine environment (neritic)

with a westward-flowing sediment dispersal system (Howell, 1974).

The contact with the overlying Sespe Formation is conformable

(Howell, 1974; Yerkes and Campbell, 1979).

21

SUBSURFACE STRATIGRAPHY

Simi Valley

Upper Cretaceous strata are poorly represented in the sub-

surface of the Sinii Valley area. Benthic foraminifer data indi-

cate that the Pacific Western Marr 1 well in the Simi Valley

reached the Cretaceous (Section A-A', Plate lib). Farther to the

east, the Getty Joughin 1 and Standard Frew 1-1 wells penetrate

up to 2,700 feet of Cretaceous strata (Section A-A', Plate lic).

Electric-log characteristics and lithologic descriptions of the

Cretaceous in these wells suggest a sequence of sandstone and

mudstone similar to exposures in the Sinii Hills, and similar to

descriptions of electric logs in the Horse Meadows oil field which

are correlated to the Chatsworth Formation (Link, 1981).

The pre-Santa Susana Paleocene is cut by several wells in and

near the Simi Valley (Section A-A', Plates lib, lic), but the Simi

Conglomerate cannot be differentiated as a separate member in the

subsurface. Conglomerate is common in these wells, and at least

the upper part of the sequence contains benthic foraminifers.

An unconformity with considerable topographic relief between

the Cretaceous and overlying Tertiary strata is documented in the

subsurface east of the line where the pre-Santa Susana Tertiary

strata and Upper Cretacecus strata are overlapped by the Santa

Susana Formation (Section A-A', Plate lic). Approximately 450

feet of pre-Santa Susana Paleocene strata are present in the Getty

Joughin 1 well, but farther east, Santa Susana conglomerate

22

rests directly on Cretaceous strata in the Frew 1-1 well. This

subsurface relation suggests that the Paleocene conglomerate ex-

posures to the south in Blind Canyon, east of Brown's Canyon, and

in the Chatsworth Reservoir area (Fig. 1) are the Santa Susana

conglomerate.

Subsurface data in the southwest Simi Valley (Section B-B',

Plates lila, Ilib) are not adequate to map Zinsmeister's (1974)

outcropping sandstone tongues within the Santa Susana Formation.

However, the sandstone tongues are probably present in the Regent

Runkle 1 well, but they are absent in the C. A. Palmer Brandeis

1 and Pamoan Hot Rod Flannagan 1 wells to the east, documenting

an eastward change of the Santa Susana to a finer-grained facies

in the subsurface as well as on the surface (Section B-B', Plate

Ilib).

Thick wedge-shaped sandstone lenses are again present in the

Santa Susana Formation in Union Las Llajas Corehole 1 through

Standard Frew 1-1 wells (Section A-A', Plate lic). These north-

eastern sandstone lenses as well as Zinsineister's (1974) sandstone

tongues to the southwest (Section B-B', Plates lila, Ilib) may

chart cycles of submarine fan development, abandonment, and

rejuvenation during Santa Susana deposition in a slope environment.

Lithologic descriptions and electric-log characteristics of

the Llajas Formation west of the M. H. Narr Marr Ranch 20 well

(Section A-A', Plates ha, lIb) indicate predominant sand and

gravel deposition in the lower part of the section changing to

mostly silt with minor sand deposition in the upper part. Squires

23

(1981) documented this same relationship in the type section at

Chivo Canyon (Plate lib, Squires' A section) where the sequence

changes upsection from a shallow marine to an outer shelf or slope

deposit ional environment.

West of the type Liajas in Chivo Canyon, the sequence grades

to predominantly siltstone as far west as the Macson Strathearn 1

well (Section A-A', Plates ha, lib). A north-south transect of

the Simi Valley (Section C-C', Plate IV) shows that the Liajas

Formation is predominantly siltstone in the southern part of the

Simi Valley as well as in the northern part.

West of the Macson Strathearn 1 well (Section A-A', Plate

ha), thick sandstone lenses are interbedded with sandy shale in

the Hancock Strathearn 16-6 through Marathon Vail 1 wells. This

same stratigraphic relationship is documented to the south (Sec-

tion B-B', Plate lila) in Runkle Canyon and the Mayo Montgomery

1 well, and westward to the Intex McCrea 1 well. Section D-D'

(Plate V), comprising the Intex McCrea 1, Marathon Vail 1, and

Union Simi 1-35 wells, shows that these sandstone lenses in the

Llajas are common west and southwest of the Simi Valley.

Benthic foraminifers found in the Shell Strathearn 1 well

(Ross, 1952) (Section A-A', Plate ha) and in the Havenstrite

Tapo 1 well (Section C-C', Plate IV) indicate deposition of the

Liajas at neritic depths in the lower part of the formation, and

at bathyal depths in the upper part of the formation. This is

similar to the depositional sequence at the type section, as

described by Squires (1981) (Section A-A', Plate hib).

24

Northwestern San Fernando Valley

The Cretaceous strata in the lower part of the Sun Porter

Estate 81-16 well and, to a lesser extent, in the lower part of

the Porter Sesnon Horse Meadows 2-47 well (Sections G-G', H-H',

Plates VIII, IXa) are mainly fine-grained siltstone, in contrast

to the coarser grained, sandstone-rich Cretaceous sequence of the

Aliso Canyon oil field (Section E-E', Plate VI) and the Simi Hills.

This change of facies eastward suggests that the Cretaceous of the

San Fernando Valley was east of the main Cretaceous Chatsworth fan.

Cretaceous strata in the Sun Porter Estate 81-16 well (Plates VIII,

IX) contain forauiinifers of the "F-zone" and possibly the "G-Zone"

of Goudkoff (1945).

The disconformable contact between the Cretaceous and overly-

ing Tertiary in the vicinity of the type section at Black Canyon

in the Simi Hills changes to an angular unconformity in the

northwestern San Fernando Valley, as documented in the hanging-

wall block of the Frew fault in the Aliso Canyon oil field (Fig.

4, Section E-E', Plate VI) and in the Horse Meadows oil field

(Section F-F', Plate VII). Because the Santa Susana Formation

rests directly upon the Cretaceous in both these oil fields,

the age of tilting of the Cretaceous can be dated only as pre-

Santa Susana. In section F-F' (Plate VII) as well as sections

G-G' and H-H' (Plates VIII, IX), the pre-Santa Susana Tertiary is

missing, and there is only one possible occurrence of the Santa

Susana conglomerate (Section G-G', Plate VIII, Porter Sesnon

25

Quarry 78-4). Otherwise, gray claystone and siltstone of the

Santa Susana Formation overlap the pre-Santa Susana Tertiary and

rest directly on Cretaceous turbidites (Lant, 1977; Shields,

1977). The blue-gray siltstone and claystone of the Santa Susana

Formation in the northeastern Simi Valley and northwestern San

Fernando Valley (Plates VIII, IX) change to a sandier lithology

to the northeast in the Exxon Marquis 1, Gulf Ward 1, and Conti-

nental Phillips 1 wells (Plate IXb), and Frew 1-1 through Porter

Sesnon Sesnon Fee 7 wells (Plates VI and VIII).

Disconforrnably(?) above the Santa Susana Formation in section

H-H' (Plate IXb), the Llajas basal conglomerate thickens markedly

to the southwest, especially in the Arco Pertusati 1 and Shell

Schonfeld 1 wells. The overlying Llajas Formation is finer grained

than that found in the Simi Valley area with the exception of the

Scope Miller-Sanger 1 well, which contains a sequence dominated

by sandstone.

The Liajas Formation in the subsurface of northwestern San

Fernando Valley is overlain successively by nonmarine sandstone,

marine siltstone, and middle Miocene Topanga basalt (Shields,

1977). Because of the close stratigraphic proximity to the middle

Topanga basalt and the fact that other Topanga outcrops inter-

bedded with Miocene volcanic rocks in the San Fernando Valley are

nonmarine (Oakeshott, 1958), the nonmarine sequence is considered

by Shields (1977) to be correlative with the nonmarine part of the

lower Topanga Formation in the Santa Monica Mountains (Durrell,

1954; Campbell and others, 1966) rather than the Sespe Formation.

I i '..uj I

.. I

.,I4 17

..

LAS ff 720-

21 22 23 24

U.. /f28 25

52r _27

J,8_26

ALISO5ANYO ...32 147 'Dv)

1

36 31 33 34 '0 1/2 I

HORSE 35

T3NT2N

MILE MEADOWS ..,.73 3 2 I

36'4 34

Figure 4. Location map of the Frew and Santa Susana faults. AfterLant(1977), Shields(l977), and Yeats, Butler & Schlueter(1977).

0)

27

Santa Susana Mountains

Section I-I' (Plate X) in the Santa Susana Mountains, is

parallel to the Frew fault on the footwall side (Fig. 4). The

similarity of sandstone lithology of the Liajas Formation in this

section and section A-A' (Plate lic), which is also parallel to

the Frew fault on the hanging-wall side, suggests that there has

not been large-scale lateral displacement on the Frew fault.

Newhall

A thick sequence of Paleocene and Eocene strata is present

in the Continental Phillips 1 well (Section H-H', Plate IXb). The

lowermost conglomerate was previously described as the Simi Con-

glomerate (Nelligan, 1978). However, the presence of foraminifers

equivalent to the "D" zone of Laiming (1939), the overlapping

relationship of the Santa Susana Formation to the southwest (Sec-

tions A-A', E-E', Plates lic, VI), and the lack of evidence for

"Martinez" or Laiming "E" zone faunas suggest that the conglomer-

ate is part of the basal Santa Susana Formation. Directly above

the Santa Susana conglomerate, the dominant lithologies are silt-

stone and claystone. This part of the section is like the Santa

Susana in those wells southwest of Eoon Marquis 1 in section H-H'

(Plate IX) or the Getty Frew 1-1 well in sections A-A' and E-E'

(Plates lic, VI). The intermixing of claystone, siltstone, and

conglomerate in the upper part of the Santa Susana suggests an

influx of coarser-grained material from a nearby source.

28

Above the Santa Susana Formation, the Llajas Formation con-

sists of siltstone with minor sandstone. This is a relatively

fine-grained sequence as compared with the type Llajas in the

Simi Valley. However, the data from the Phillips 1 well and the

Elsuiere Canyon outcrop suggest that these strata are related more

closely to the Simi Valley sequence than either the San Francis-

quito Formation or the Paleogene of the Topa Topa Mountains.

Oak Ridge

Approximately 2,000 feet of Upper Cretaceous sandstone occur

in the Shell Dryden 2 well on Oak Ridge (Section J-J', Plate XIa).

Sandstone core descriptions for the Cretaceous are similar to the

sequence which crops out in the Simi Valley. This suggests that

the Dryden 2 well penetrated part of the Chatsworth fan.

Above the Cretaceous, the entire pre-Llajas Tertiary is over-

lapped westward across Oak Ridge by the Liajas Formation. The

correlation of the pre-Llajas strata in the Union Torrey 92 well

(Section J-J', Plate XIb) is problematic; these strata may be cor-

relative to the Santa Susana Formation or to the pre-Santa Susana

Tertiary. Faunal evidence does not preclude a Cretaceous age for

the lowest part of the section in the well. The middle Eocene

age of the Liajas basal conglomerate in the Union Torrey 92 well

is suggested by the presence of an algal limestone which possibly

is correlative to the middle Eocene Sierra Blanca Limestone found

in the Santa Ynez Mountains (Johnson, 1968; Howell, 1974). Middle

Eocene fauna and conglomeratic lithology suggest the presence of

29

the Liajas basal conglomerate in the Shell Dryden 2 well (Plate

XIa). A sharp lithologic change to gray sandstone, which contin-

ues downhole through the appearance of a definite Cretaceous

fauna, suggests that the Liajas conglomerate rests unconformably

on Upper Cretaceous strata in the Dryden 2 well.

Neritic paleobathymetry in the Texaco Shiells E-7 and E-8

wells (Section J-J', Plate XIa), based upon benthic foraminifers,

may chart the regression found in the upper Liajas Formation at

the type section (Squires, 1981). Brackish-water shale described

in the Union C & H 10 well further supports neritic depths of depo-

sition and may indicate that paleogeography during late Llajas

time included an estuarine environment on part of Oak Ridge. The

Llajas thickens from east to west across Oak Ridge from approxi-

mately 2,800 feet as documented in the Havenstrite Tapo 1, to

approximately 3,800 feet in the Shell Dryden 2 (Plate XI).

Oxnard Plain

Cretaceous sandstone, similar in description and electric-log

character to that in the northwestern San Fernando Valley is en-

countered in the bottom 900 feet of the Sun Ferrell 1 well (Sec-

tion K-K', Plate XIIc). Farther southwest, Cretaceous strata may

also occur in the Texaco Capital-Oxnard 1 and Lloyd Livingston 4

wells (Plate XIIa, XIIb). These sandstones may be part of the

same depositional system that deposited Cretaceous strata in the

Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains. However, none of these

sequences is confirmed as Cretaceous on the basis of fossils.

30

The sandy pre-Liajas Tertiary strata beneath the Oxnard Plain

are similar lithologically to the pre-Santa Susana marine sequence

in the southwestern Simi Hills (Section B-B', Plate III). However,

the identity of this sequence is questionable without better bio-

stratigraphic zonation; these strata may be part of the Santa

Susana Formation.

The Liajas Formation of the Oxnard Plain was apparently de-

posited in upper bathyal to upper neritic water depths as indicated

by paleobathymetry, abundance of sandstone and siltstone, and

abundant worm impressions and shell fragments (Plate XII).

31

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The Cretaceous marine sandstone that forms the Chatsworth

deep-sea sand fan of Link (1981), Colburn (1981), and Colburn,

West, and Carey (1981), is inferred by these workers to reach

eastward at least as far as the eastern extent of the Horse

Meadows oil field, west as far as Thousand Oaks in the Simi Hills

and Trancas Beach district in the Santa Monica Mountains, and

south to the Malibu Coast fault (Colburn, 1981) (Fig. 5). Sub-

surface data from this study extend the areal distribution of this

Cretaceous fan complex northwest to the Shell Dryden 2 well on Oak

Ridge near the Bardsdale oil field (Section J-J', Plate XIa) and

possibly southwest to the Sun Ferrell 1 well in the Oxnard Plain

(Section K-K', Plate XIIc). However, the sequence correlated to

the "G-Zone"(?) and most of the "F-Zone" of Goudkoff (1945) in the

Sun Porter 81-16 and the Horse Meadows 2-47 wells (Sections C-C',

H-H', Plates VIII, IX) is fine grained, indicating the eastern

edge of the Chatsworth sand fan lay west of these wells. The east

edge of the fan expanded eastward to include those wells later in

the Cretaceous. The distribution of Cretaceous surface exposures

and those wells which penetrate Cretaceous strata located outside

of Colburn's (1981) minimum extent of the Chatsworth deep-sea

fan are shown in Figure 5.

Deposition of the Chatsworth fan was followed by uplift and

local tilting of at least nine degrees in the Aliso Canyon oil

field (Section E-E', Plate VI) and 26 degrees in the Horse Meadows

2

THOUSAND siMIOXNARD

VENTURA CO.

7 LOS ANGELES CO

SANTA MONICA

FAULT

AUBU COAST

Miles

Drafting by Edwin RHow.$ -

Figure 5. DistrIbution of surface Cretaceous rocks (shown as stippled pattern). Also shown are those wells which penetrateCretaceous strata outside of Colburn's(1981) minimum extent of the Chatsworlh deep-sea fan,(after Jennings and Strand, 1969). (U

N)

33

oil field (Section F-Ft, Plate VII) as based upon dipmeter logs,

prior to deposition of the Santa Susana Formation (Yeats, 1979).

However, it cannot be demonstrated whether the tilting predated

deposition of the Simi Conglomerate or postdated deposition of the

pre-Santa Susana marine Paleocene strata.

The Simi Conglomerate was derived from an eastern source

(Sage, 1973). A distinctive red pisolitic claystone overlies the

Simi C'ongioinerate. It is overlain by a marine Paleocene sandstone

sequence in both the western Simi Hills and in Solstice Canyon in

the Santa Monica Mountains, suggesting to Yerkes and Campbell

(1971), that the Solstice Canyon sequence was once part of the

Simi Hills, and was later thrust to the south during the Miocene.

Sage (1973) suggested that the red pisolitic claystone overlying

the Simi Conglomerate marks a north-northwest-trending paleo-

shoreline as illustrated in Figure 6. Also illustrated in Figure

6 is the distribution of Simi Conglomerate outcrop and those wells

which most probably contain the Simi Conglomerate.

After deposition of the Simi Conglomerate, eastward transgres-

sion resulted in reworking of the upper part of the Simi Conglomer-

ate and deposition of fossiliferous siltstone, sandstone, and

conglomeratic sandstone of the pre-Santa Susana Paleocene over the

Simi Conglomerate. It is suggested that the seas which deposited

the pre-Santa Susana Paleocene strata did not transgress into the

northwestern San Fernando Valley area. Minor regression and

erosion followed deposition of the pre-Santa Susana Paleocene,

creating a local disconformity. The pre-Santa Susana Paleocene

c I

\\ IApproximate shoreline from

_J I Sage(1973). Based on thedistribution of Pisolitic -cloystone. --' I

- - ?- -

,h os Anqtt

------?-_..... -4-1---

e

W-SW E-E

(1973)Oxr,ard Simi

I

PIon claystone Valley

0 5 MILES_____________

marine ss

Dr3ftirtg by Edwn R. Hc.esK K

Figure 6. DlsLrlbution map of the Simi Conglomerate. Paleocurrent data Indicated with

arrows. Also shown are those wells which may penetrate pre-Santa Susana

marine Paleocene strata.

35

was then overlapped by a major transgression which resulted in

deposition of the Santa Susana Formation. Deposition of the Santa

Susana conglomerate in Simi Valley and the Aliso Canyon oil field

was probably controlled by the availability of the Simi Conglomer-

ate as the major source of clasts. Figure 7 shows schematically

the extent of the marine Paleocene strata, Simi Conglomerate, and

the westward overlapping of the Santa Susana Formation. The same

relationship is proposed for the Santa Monica Mountains. The

Solstice Canyon sequence, consisting of a thin Sirni Conglomerate,

a relatively thick pre-Santa Susana marine sequence, and little

or no Santa Susana Formation, would be analogous to the exposures

in the western Sirni Hills. East of Solstice Canyon, in Carbon

and Topanga Canyons, the sequence consists of the Santa Susana

Formation lying directly on Cretaceous. This is analogous to the

situation in the Horse Meadows and Aliso Canyon oil fields (Sec-

tions E-E', F-F', G-G', H-H', Plates VI, VII, VIII, IX).

The distribution of Santa Susana Formation lithologies is

shown in Figure 8. Two models are presented to account for the

distribution pattern. Model (I) suggests that most of the Simi

Valley and northwestern San Fernando Valley were part of a north-

west-trending submarine high which was shielded from significant

tractive or turbidity current sand deposition during Santa Susana

time, and received only fine-grained hemipelagic deposits. Sub-

marine topographic lows in the Santa Susana Mountains to the north-

east and in the western Simi Hills to the southwest received basin-

plain sands from an east or southeast source. Limited paleocurrent

W-SW E-NE

-00

>.. 2u0oä

Santa Susana Formation

Pa leo ce ne

$011 tica

Figure 7. Extent of pre-Santa Susana marine Paleocenestrata and the overlapping of the SantaSusana Formation.

CM

ç]I

E-NE

Oxtard Sims SantaPtain VaII.y Susana

troughridge

Mtns.

____ trough

ss

,7 sltst &mudst

ri shelf

slist & mudsf

79

ss&sltstIensesf

I-- -

'If? P._._d:s I/I-p

(._> _/ I

(1976) & .:I I

\N\\

knes sUst / I

mudsf ,, I

LOS

-

N '-$&. __)C MILES

Drnftin by Edwin R. How..

Figure 8. Distribution map of the Santa Susana Formation. Paleocurrent data indicated with arrows. Also shown

are two models which may account for the distribution patterns. (I) suggests that currents flowed

parallel to a submarine ridge. (11) suggests that sediment was deposIted down a slope and into a tur-

bidite trough.()J

I

data for the Santa Susana Formation (Janes, 1976) suggest predomi-

nantly northwest transport of fine-grained sediments. However, if

these fine-grained sediments were deposited on either the distal

end of a submarine fan or on a channeled slope area the data may

be unreliable as a predominant direction of sediment dispersal.

Data which support this model include paleobathymetry evidence

based upon benthic foraminifers which suggest a bathyal (often

lower bathyal) environment for the entire Santa Susana Formation

(M. V. Filewicz, written coxnxnun., 1982). An alternate model (II)

is deposition of the Santa Susana on a southwest-facing shelf,

slope and turbidite trough (Figure 8). Sand channels exposed

in Poison Oak and Meier Canyons (R. Squires, written coinmun.,

1982) which may have funneled coarse-grained sediment westward

or southwestward down the presumed slope, support this model.

West of the Union Torrey 92 well on Oak Ridge, the Llajas

Formation rests directly on Cretaceous strata (Section J-J', Plate

XI). The pre-Liajas Tertiary is missing due to either nondeposi-

tion on a topographic high or erosion prior to deposition of the

Llajas Formation on Oak Ridge, with the latter interpretation more

likely.

Regression ended the deposition of the Santa Susana Formation

and resulted in a three million year time hiatus, in the early

Eocene (M. V. Filewicz, written commun., 1982). This was followed

by transgression and deposition of the Llajas Formation, After

the deposition of a basal coastal alluvial-fan sequence (Llajas

39

basal conglomerate of Squires, 1981), mudstone and siltstone were

the main detritus deposited in a west- to northwest-trending belt

through the northwestern San Fernando Valley and eastern Simi

Valley (Fig. 9). To the northeast in the Santa Susana Mountains

(Section I-I', Plate X), and southwest in the Oxnard Plain (Sec-

tion K-K', Plate XII), sandstone was the dominant lithology. A

transition zone between sandstone and mudstone lithologies occurs

in a belt between the Oxnard Plain and central Simi Valley. In

this area thick sandstone lenses occur as interbeds in a sequence

which is predominantly siltstone. The overall distribution of

Liajas lithologies corresponds roughly to those of the underlying

Santa Susana Formation. Two models are presented in Figure 9 to

account for the superimposed patterns. The first model (I) sug-

gests that the Llajas was deposited on the same submarine high

that may have been present during Santa Susana time. The second

model (Ii) predicts that Liajas deposition was controlled by a

"shelft to turbidite trough topography similar to that which may

have controlled Santa Susana sedimentation. Paleobathymetry data

based on microfossils from Simi Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains,

Oak Ridge, and the Oxnard Plain, suggest that the Liajas was de-

posited in upper bathyal to upper neritic depths throughout most

of the Ventura basin. Thickness differences between the Oxnard

Plain (less than 1,000 feet), Simi Valley (2,000 feet), and Oak

Ridge (4,000 feet), suggest that the Oxnard Plain may have been

located on an offshore high where sediment did not accumulate

as quickly as in areas farther east.

/sitst /

/ 7)

V

sit st&

&{ 'w/ss q/ VssIenses// \/ //.v

/ Ci %i. sltst

I sitst // .,

,

1.

/... -/ / LOS AiI

/ w-sw E-NEOxnard Simi SantaPlain Valley Susana

ridgeMtns.

liouitrough

$

ss ç9SIfSfSSshelf

tro\05MILES

Drafting Cy Edwin R. Hows

Figure 9. DistrIbution map of the Liajas Formation. Paieocurreiit data from the ilajas Conglomerate indicated

with arrows; (1) - howell (1976), (2) - Yeats and others (1974). Also shown are two models which

may account for the distribution patterns. (1) suggests that currents flowed parallel to a submarine

ridge. (ii) suggests that sediment was deposited down a slope and Into a turbidite trough.

41

Clast type and paleocurrent data for the Sespe and Vaqueros

Formations (Yeats and others, 1974; McCracken, 1972) suggest that

the Paleocene and Eocene sedimentation from east to west and the

basin geometry trends of the southern Ventura basin continued

imtil the Miocene, at which time extensional tectonism character-

ized by volcanism and normal faulting began (Yeats, 1971, 1976).

This is in contrast to the reverse faulting that characterizes

the basin today (Yeats, 1971).

The Paleogene basin configuration of southern California was

altered significantly in the Neogene. Sage (1973) and Howell

(1974) attempted palinspastic reconstructions of the Paleocene

and Eocene paleogeography of southern California assuming large-

scale movement on the Malibu Coast fault system, the San Gabriel

fault system, and the San Andreas fault system. These reconstruc-

tions indicate that a continuous northwest-trending shoreline was

present during the early Tertiary which shed clastics to the west

or southwest into the southern Ventura basin.

Howell (1974) suggested that rotation of crustal blocks in

southern California was also necessary to account for the present-

day configuration of Eocene strata. Based upon paleomagnetic evi-

dence, Kamerling and Luyendyk (1979) suggested that the Santa

Monica Mountains and Conejo Hills have rotated 64 to 81 degrees

clockwise. To accommodate the rotation, Luyendyk and others

(1980) suggested 20 miles of left-lateral offset on the Simi

fault. In contrast, Truex (1976) proposed 35 miles of right-

lateral offset on a Las Posas-Simi-Frew-Soledad fault system

42

as a result of the apparent westward displacement of the Santa

Monica Mountains from an original position north of the Santa

Ana Mountains.

On the basis of Sespe and Liajas Conglomerate electric-log

correlations across the Sitni fault, Hanson (1981) showed that

there is no evidence to support large-scale lateral offset on this

fault. Data from this study further support no large-scale later-

al displacement; fades changes within the Llajas Formation cross

the Simi fault with no apparent offset (Fig. 8). The similarity

of the Elsmere Canyon outcrop and the Continental Phillips 1 well

to the Simi Valley arid San Fernando Valley data, and the similar-

ity of the Llajas Formation north and south of the Frew fault

(Sections A-A', I-I', Plates lic, X), suggest that there was no

large-scale lateral displacement on either the Santa Susana fault

or the Frew fault.

The proposed rotation of Cretaceous and Paleogene strata in

the southern Ventura basin (Kamerling and Luyendyk, 1979) is shown

in Figure 10. Rotated directions of sediment transport for the

Cretaceous Chatsworth Fan and Sespe Formation suggest dispersal of

sediment westward in the southern Ventura basin. Based upon con-

glomerate clast compositions, Colburn, West, and Carey (1981)

suggested that the Peninsular Ranges served as the main source

for the Chatsworth Fan. However, they do not preclude the possi-

bility of a source on the east side of the San Andreas fault.

A southeastern source was suggested for the Sespe Formation based

upon imbricate clast orientations (Yeats and others, 1979).

Cretaceous Paleocene Santa Susana- SespeFan Shoreline Liajas Trends Paleocurrents

\Present \ \Configuration \ \

Counterclockwise 7N64-81 Degree /Rotation

Figure 10. Post Pateogene rotation of the southern Ventura basin.

CjJ

44

Sage (1973) suggested a northwest-trending shoreline and a

northeastern source for the Paleocene of southern California

based upon the distribution of a pisolitic claystone, clast compo-

sitions, and unrotated paleocurrent data. Rotation of the Paleo-

cene suggests a northern source, with sediment deposited along an

east-west oriented shoreline. Sedimentation patterns and paleo-

current trends for the Santa Susana and Llajas Formations are in-

conclusive as to a predominant direction of sediment transport,

but appear to correspond more closely with the Paleocene trends

than with the trends of the Cretaceous or Sespe Formation.

In summary, consideration of post-Paleogene clockwise rotation

results in an eastern source for the Chatsworth fan, comparable to

the eastern source for Cretaceous strata west of the Peninsular

Ranges. A derivation of the Paleocene shoreline sequence, rich

in quartzite clasts, from the north, a source area relatively free

of quartzite, is more difficult to imagine than a derivation from

the east, if rotation is not assumed.

45

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APPENDIX

52

Well No.

WELLS UTILIZED IN STUDY

Well Name Sect.-Township-Range

1 Arco Pertusati 1 20-2N-16W1

2 C.A. Palmer Brandeis 1 7-2N-17W

3 Carrillo Wiekhorst 1 ll-2N-18W

4 Continental Berylwood 1 18-2N-20W

5 Continental Howell 2 35-3N-16W

6 Continental Phillips 1 6-3N-15W

7 Exxon Beryiwood mv. Co. D-2 19-2N-20W1

8 Exxon Marquis 1 26-3N-16W

9 Franco Western Smith 7lA-ll ll-2N-19W

10 Getty Joughin 1 25-3N-17W

11 Getty Tapo 42 36-3N-18W

12 Gulf Ward 1 27-3N--16W

13 Hancock Strathearn 16-6 6-2N-18W

14 Havenstrite Tapo 1 13-3N-18W

15 Husky Getty Tapo Ranch 1 25-3N-18W1

16 Intex McCrea 1 27-2N-19W

17 Lloyd Livingston 4 31-2N-2lW

18 Lloyd McGrath 2 32-2N-21W

19 Lloyd McGrath 4 32-2N-21W

20 Macson Strathearn 1 6-2N-18W

21 Marathon Vail 1 l0-2N-19W1

22 Mayo, Luther T., Montgomery 1 2l-2N-18W23 McDonald and Norris Water Co. 1 35-3N-18W

24 M.H. Marr Marr Ranch A-i 30-3N-17W25 M.H. Marr Marr Ranch 17 31-3N-17W26 N.H. Marr Marr Ranch 20 30-3N-17W27 N.H. Marr Marr Ranch 26 32-3N-17W

28 National Expi. Binns 67-1 1-2N-17W29 Northridge Simco 1 31-3N-17W30 Pacific Western Marr 1 36-3N-18W31 Pamoan Hot Rod Flannagan 1 6-2N-17W32 Pauley BlOW 36 l9-3N-16W33 Porter Sesnon Greenman Community 52-15 15-2N-l6W34 Porter Sesnon Horse Meadows 2-47 4-2N-16W35 Porter Sesnon Horse Meadows 2A-47 4-2N-16W36 Porter Sesnon Horse Meadows 3-49 4-2N-16W37 Porter Sesnon Orchard 38-10 l0-2N-l6W38 Porter Sesnon Quarry 78-4 42N16W139 R. B. Jackson R & C 1 17-3N-18W40 Regent Runkle 1 14-3N-21W141 Scope Miller-Sanger 1 34-2N-l7W142 Shell Dryden 2 7-3N-19W43 Shell Schonfeld 1 30-2N-16W1-

44 Shell South Mtn. and Ojai 21 i9-3N-20W45 Shell Strathearn 1 6-2N-18W

53

Well No. Well Name Sect.-Toship-Fnge

46 So. Cal. Gas Co. Sesnon Fee 3 33-3N-16W47 So. Cal. Gas Co. Sesnon Fee 7 33-3N-16W148 So. Cal. Pet. Merchants-Hartman 1 22-1N-22W49 Standard Brady Estate 2-lA l3-3N-17W150 Standard Frew 1-1 29-3N-16W51 Standard Frew 1-5 29-3N-16W52 Standard Frew 1-6 29-3N-16W53 Standard Lucas 1 l-1N-22W154 Standard Maulhardt Connunity 101-A l-1N-22W55 Standard Roosa 2 29-3N-16W56 Standard Standard Sesnon 12 29-3N-16W57 Sun Drilling Ferrell 1 14-2N-20W158 Sun Oil Greenman Community 72-15 15-2N-16W159 Sun Oil Porter Estate 81-16 l6-2N-16W160 Texaco Bannon Silver-K 14-1N-22W161 Texaco Beryiwood 2 16-2N-20W62 Texaco Capital-Oxnard 1 5-1N-21W63 Texaco Miketta 1 21-2N-2OW64 Texaco Shiells E-7 Lt-3N-19W

65 Texaco Shiells E-8 4-3N-19W66 Texaco Shiells 165 4-3N-19W67 Texaco Shiells 202 4-3N-19W68 Texaco-Union N. Richardson Heirs 1 14-3N-21W69 Union C & H 10 23-3N-21W70 Union Continental Janss 1 22-2N-21W71 Union Del Aliso 1-1 19-3N-16W172 Union Del Aliso 1-2 19-3N-16W73 Union Horse Meadows 1-46 5-2N-16W74 Union Horse Meadows 3-74 3-2N-16W75 Union Las Llajas Corehole 1 22-3N-17W76 Union Las Liajas 9 22-3N-17W77 Union Simi 1-35 O.H. 35-3N--19W178 Union Simi 24 28-3N-17W79 Union Torrey 92 5-3N-18W

and Eocene samples available from: California WellSaniple Repository, Cal. State Bakersfield, 9001 StockdaleHwy., 93309, (805) 833-2324, Repository Curator: Mr. JackTucker