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(Note: Complete captions with full-scale images.)
 Figure 1.
Index map of the greater Los Angeles basin.
 Figure 2.
Shaded relief map of northeastern Los Angeles basin.
 Figure 3.
Stratigraphic column.
Return to top.
Since the recognition
in the 1960s of the role of plate tectonics in the  structural history of
the earth, significant progress has been made in understanding the
evolution of the
California borderland. The tectonic events that embody this
evolution in the greater
Los Angeles
basin are the following (Refer to
Figure 1
for the location of
the San Andreas fault, the Los Angeles basin and the western Transverse
Ranges).
1. Beginning ca. 28
Ma, cessation of Pacific plate subduction in the central and southern
California area and the evolution of the San Andreas transform
fault system (Atwater, 1998).
2. Uplift of
metamorphic core complexes represented in the Los Angeles basin by the
Catalina Schist and clockwise rotation of the western Transverse Ranges
block by more than 90 degrees since ca. 18 Ma (Luyendyk, 1991, Crouch and
Suppe, 1993).
3. Lithospheric
extension in the wake of the rotating western Transverse Ranges that
resulted in the development of regional detachment surfaces (Crouch and
Suppe, 1993).
4. In the Los Angeles
basin area, cessation of extension at ca. 7-8 Ma
and the onset of
north-south compression associated with the San Andreas transform
fault system, which has
produced about 50 km
of shortening across the basin (Argus et al., 1999,
Bjorklund et al., 2002).
In the greater Los
Angeles basin area, these events have resulted in the northwest-southeast
trending right-lateral strike slip faults of the Peninsular Ranges (Palos
Verdes, Newport- Inglewood, Elsinore, San Jacinto and San Andreas) and the
east-west trending left-lateral oblique slip faults of the western
Transverse Ranges (Santa Monica, Hollywood, Raymond, Sierra
Madre-Cucamonga) (Figure
1). Metamorphic
rocks of an accretionary-wedge complex (ca. 160 Ma), magmatic-arc rocks of
the Southern California batholith (ca. 120-95 Ma) and forearc sedimentary
rocks (ca. 90-49 Ma?) make up the cores of the uplifts produced by these
faults. The intervening basins have been filled with Miocene and younger
sedimentary deposits and volcanic rocks (ca. 16-0 Ma). The sedimentary rocks consist
predominantly of turbidites that have been shed from the surrounding
uplifts.
The Puente Hills of
the northeastern Los Angeles basin are located west and northwest of the
Peninsular
Ranges and southeast of the Transverse Ranges but are not clearly
associated with either geomorphic province (Figure 1
and
Figure
2). This dilemma has led to conflicting
interpretations of the structural development of the area. From north to
south, the Puente Hills anticline, the
Whittier fault, which
trends
N70oW
and cuts the steeply dipping south limb of the anticline along a 40 km
strike-length, and the La Habra syncline characterize the structural
setting of the Puente Hills (Figure 2).
Basement rocks that underlie the Puente Hills exhibit as much as 14000
feet of vertical separation due to folding and offset along the
Whittier fault (cf. Yerkes, 1972, p. 29). Most studies of the
Whittier fault have concluded that movement on the
Whittier fault has
been predominantly right-lateral strike slip, but a consensus has not been
reached on the amount of horizontal separation. Estimates of horizontal
displacement have ranged from nearly one mile to 25 miles
(English, 1926, Hill, 1954, Woodford, 1954, Lamar, 1961, Durham and Yerkes,
1964, Yerkes, 1972, Sage, 1975, Wright, 1991, McCulloh et al., 2000).
Offsets of more than about 15 miles would not be compatible with
the late Pliocene (2.5 Ma) origin now ascribed to the Elsinore fault (Hull
and Nicholson, 1992) and would necessarily be related to a different
kinematic regime. Gourley (1975) and Davis et al. (1989) do not require
any horizontal displacement on the Whittier fault. One paleoseismic study
of excavated trenches concluded that Upper Quaternary channel sandstones
had been offset 9-26 m in a right-lateral strike slip sense and estimated
the ratio of lateral to vertical slip at 12:1 (Gath et al., 1992).
Radiocarbon dates from those trenches indicated that the faulting took
place within the past 17,000 years.
Our 4-D analysis of
the available data shows that, although a small component of strike slip
separation is required, dip-slip separation has been predominant on the
Whittier fault during most of the past 8 My. Our review of previous
studies of displacements on the
Whittier fault suggests that a strike-slip transport
direction has not been unequivocally established because of inherent
uncertainties in across-the-fault correlations and poorly constrained
piercing points. The amounts of uncertainty could well be as great as the
estimated offsets. We have proposed a three-phase evolution of the
Whittier fold-fault
system (Bjorklund and Burke, 2002). That evolution began with extensional
phase volcanism (16-14 Ma) and the formation of the Puente Hills half-graben
along a proto-Whittier normal fault (14-8 Ma) and concluded with the
compressional inversion of the half-graben to form the present Puente
Hills anticline, the through-going Whittier reverse fault system and the
La Habra syncline (8-0 Ma). Maximum burial of the hydrocarbon source rocks
of the La Vida Member, the formation of oil accumulations in Miocene and
Pliocene turbidites and substantial erosion of these strata took place
from ca. 3-0 Ma (cf. Mayer, 1991) (Figure
3).
The purpose of this
publication is to make available, in an accessible and usable format, a
core database on the geology of the northeastern Los Angeles basin (Figure
1 and
Figure
2).
The document emphasizes the structural and stratigraphic relationships of
the Upper Miocene Puente Formation and the Lower Pliocene Fernando
Formation, which are intensely drilled and represent the main
oil-productive intervals of the Los Angeles basin (Figure
3). We hope
that this publication may be useful to (1) those engaged in petroleum
exploration and development, (2) earth scientists who are conducting
research on continental transform fault systems, especially in the field
of seismotectonics, and (3) earth science educators. The format of the
database is devised to make it suitable for use in classes on structural
geology, petroleum geology, and computer applications. Computer projects
could range from 3-D analyses on high-performance workstations to the
creation of conventional maps and cross sections on personal computers.
Additional information to complement the database presented here,
including geophysical well logs, topographic maps, oil field maps and
satellite images, are available from the
California Department of Conservation, the
United States Geological Survey,
and the Los Angeles Basin Data Repository at California State University
Long Beach.
This publication
consists of a series of 22 large-scale cross sections of oil fields along
the Whittier fault, 10 regional cross sections and 6 structure
maps (Refer to
Figure 4 for
the locations of the cross sections and
Figure 1
for the location of the area covered by the maps). The discussion of the
maps and cross sections elaborates upon published interpretations of the
database (Bjorklund et al., 2002, Bjorklund and Burke, 2002) and
emphasizes the sources and the quality of the data, local oil field
terminology, and topics that may warrant further study. The various
digital formats in which the data are available provide the opportunity
for users to modify maps and cross sections and to produce illustrations
at any scale.
Return to top.
Aera Energy LLC
(formerly Shell Oil Company) provided most of the well data for the
central area of the study (the Brea-Olinda, Esperanza and Yorba Linda oil
fields and vicinity). Nuevo Energy and Union Oil Company supplied well
data from Sansinena oil field and the Stearns lease in Brea-Olinda oil
field. The Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University provided
well data in the East and West Coyote,
Montebello,
Rideout Heights, and
Whittier oil fields. Miscellaneous well data were obtained from the
District 1 office (Cypress, California) of the California Division of Oil,
Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR). A preliminary digital well database
that contains a single line listing of all of the wells in the study area,
including API number, current operator, lease, well number and location by
section, township, and range and, in most cases, by latitude and longitude
was obtained from the
Sacramento office of the DOGGR. The current status of the
District 1 digital maps in the
Los Angeles basin can
be found on the
District 1 website. Other well data were compiled from
published reports (Shelton, 1955, Yerkes, 1957, Durham and Yerkes, 1964,
Yerkes, 1972, Lang, 1978, Schoellhamer et al., 1981, Herzog, 1998 and
McCulloh et al., 2000). The well data are tabulated in the
WELL DATA section.
Surface geology
interpretations are based on preliminary 7.5 minute series digital
geologic maps obtained from the Southern California Areal Mapping Project
(SCAMP), a
cooperative mapping project between the U.S. Geological Survey and the
California
Geological Survey,
published reports
(Durham and Yerkes, 1964, Yerkes, 1972, Schoellhamer et al., 1981 and Gath
et al., 1992) and field observations of the author.
A preliminary
basemap for this study was compiled from paper copies of DOGGR field maps
and regional wildcat maps and reduced to a scale of 1: 24000. Parts of the
study area have not been surveyed for section, township and range corners,
and well locations on maps in those areas are not as
accurately located as in other areas. Differences between well locations
on operator maps and DOGGR maps are, also, common throughout the area.
Finally, the digital well locations do not always match the well locations
shown on either the DOGGR maps or the operator maps. For this study, the
digital well locations have been used wherever possible. However, in some
areas, the well locations in the digital database have been modified to
fit the well locations provided by the operators, such as in Esperanza oil
field. In that area, section corners on vintage 1950 USGS topographic maps
have been relocated by as much as 500 feet with respect to topographic
features on 1964 vintage USGS topographic maps. Similar differences exist
between the operators’ well locations and those in the digital database.
Additionally, the cross sections in this study were constructed using a
variety of base maps, and the well locations shown on the sections do not
always match exactly the well locations on the final basemap; that is, the
digital database. In spite of all of the difficulties in determining well
locations, errors are estimated not to be greater than about 500 feet,
which is about the accuracy of this study.
As noted above, a
comprehensive version of the Whittier fault study, entitled
The
Whittier Fault Trend in the Major Oil Producing Area of the Northeastern
Los Angeles Basin: Interpretation and Data, is available on CD-ROM. The CD-ROM includes a high-resolution PDF
file of the publication, the original high-resolution files from which the
figures and plates were created (Arc coverages, Arc shape files, Arc
export files, and Canvas), and PDF files of the two already published
reports that this publication supplements (Bjorklund and Burke, 2002,
Bjorklund et al., 2002). The CD-ROM may be ordered at the AAPG Online
Bookstore (http://bookstore.aapg.org)
or from
Search and Discovery
[email protected].
The original files
from which the maps for this study have been created are ARC/INFO
coverages in the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system (Zone 11,
NAD 27). These files are included in the CD-ROM Coverage directory as ARC
export interchange files (.e00 filename extensions) and as standard ARC coverages. The coverages are also available as Arc shape files in the
CD-ROM Shapes directory. A freeware copy of ARCEXPLORER, which has been
included in the CD-ROM Arcexpl2 directory, can be used to view the shape
files and coverages. The export interchange files can be converted to
coverages at ARC with the command IMPORT COVER <INTERCHANGE FILE NAME>
<OUTPUT COVERAGE NAME>. In ARC/INFO, xyz files can be generated from the
coverages and used in applications to create 3-D images and to carry out
structural analyses. Maps that have been created from the coverages for
this publication are included in the CD-ROM Plates directory as PDF
images. A symbol set, alcgeol.mrk, created by the USGS to render oriented
geologic structure symbols, such as strike and dip symbols, is included in
the Coverage directory (See
Alacarte
for additional
information on specialized
geologic symbol sets.). The content or theme of each file can be
determined by referring to the following explanations of file name
abbreviations.
dogwell = California Division of
Oil and Gas single line listing of well information for all wells in the
study area.
nb = north fault block or hanging
wall block of the Whittier fault.
sb = south fault block or footwall
block of the Whittier fault.
sections = index map showing
locations of cross sections in figures.
tps = top of Soquel Member of
Puente Formation.
tpsc = top of Sycamore Canyon
Member of Puente Formation (base of Lower Fernando Member).
oc = outcrop
well = map showing surface
locations of wells.
top(s) = map showing locations of
the elevations in the wellbore, which will be different from the surface
well locations for directionally drilled wells.
wf = Whittier fault
protowf = proto-Whittier fault
flt = fault
The original files of the cross
sections were created on a PC using Canvas5 and are in the CD-ROM Canvas directory. Tables in Excel format are in the CD-ROM Tables directory. An
Arc grid export interchange file of the northeastern Los Angeles basin,
which is a mosaic of 11 USGS 10 meter, 7.5 minute Digital Elevation Models
(DEMs), is in the CD-ROM Dem directory.
Return to top.
CROSS SECTIONS IN BREA-OLINDA, YORBA LINDA, AND ESPERANZA OIL FIELDS
(Note:
Complete caption of Figure 4 with full-scale image.)
 Figure 4. Index
map of cross sections.
 Figure 5. Cross
section of Sansinena oil field, East Area.
 Figure 6. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Puente lease.
 Figure 7. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Puente lease.
 Figure 8. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, east Puente lease.
 Figure 9. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field, east Puente lease.
 Figure 10. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Naranjal, Orange, and Rowland leases.
 Figure 11. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Brea, Pico, and Grazide leases.
 Figure 12. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Stearns and Menchego leases.
 Figure 13. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, central Stearns and Tonner leases.
 Figure 14. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field, central Stearns and Tonner leases.
 Figure 15. Cross
section (c) of Brea-Olinda oil field, central Stearns and Tonner leases.
 Figure 16. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Naranjal and east Stearns leases.
 Figure
17. Cross section of Brea-Olinda oil field, 100-acre, Columbia, and Olinda
leases.
 Figure
18. Cross section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Olinda and Olinda Fee 2, 3,
and 4 leases.
 Figure 19. Cross
section of Yorba Linda and Brea-Olinda oil fields, Olinda Fee 1 and 4
leases.
 Figure 20. Cross
section of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 1 and 4 leases.
 Figure 21. Cross
section (a) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
 Figure 22. Cross
section (b) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
 Figure 23. Cross
section (c) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
 Figure 24. Cross
section of Esperanza oil field, Dometal lease.
 Figure 25.
Longitudinal cross section of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
 Figure 26.
Longitudinal cross section of East Yorba Linda oil field.
Click here to view
sequence of cross sections along Whittier fault—from southeast to
northwest (Figures
23, 20, 13, 9, 5).
Twenty-two cross
sections along the 8 mile central segment of the Whittier fault
system form the core dataset for the study (Figure 4, Figures 5-26). The cross sections consist of scanned images of wellbore
locations, geophysical log curves (a spontaneous potential or gamma ray
and resistivity curve), maximum bedding dips from core and dipmeter data
(not corrected for strike of sections), paleontological data (see Wissler,
1943, Blake, 1991 and Barron and Isaacs, 2001 for discussions of
microfaunal divisions), and local correlations established by Shell Oil
Company geologists during the development of the fields. Because the
quality of the reproductions of the original cross sections was variable,
curves and annotations that are not legible on the original cross sections
are not legible on the scanned images. Interpretations of faults, the top
of the
Sycamore Canyon member of the Puente Formation (near the top of the
Miocene) and the top the Soquel member of the Puente Formation
(approximately the top of microfaunal division D) have been modified in
this study and are shown on the cross sections by heavier lines. Red
arrows mark the locations of paleontological data in wellbores. Dashed
green lines and polygons show the locations of oil sandstones and original
oil-water contacts.
Puente Hills Area of the Northwest Brea-Olinda Oil Field
Along this segment
of the Whittier fault, the contacts between Pliocene and Miocene
strata and Delmontian and Mohnian strata are not well established. Shell
Oil Company has placed the base of the Pliocene within the siltstone
interval between the top of the Miocene upper “B” sands and the base of
the Pliocene “A” sands (operator terminology). In Sansinena oil field,
which adjoins Brea-Olinda oil field on the northwest (Figure 4
and
Figure 5),
Union Oil Company placed the base of the Pliocene at the top of the upper
“B” sands. Data are not available for this study to resolve the issue,
which results in a maximum structural difference between the two interpretations of about 500 feet locally. In Brea Olinda oil
field, the base of the Lower Fernando structure map and cross sections in
this publication reflect the Shell Oil Company correlations. The base of
the Delmontian Sycamore Canyon Member is located within a thick section of
conglomeratic sandstones. Sandstone units in the Yorba Member, such as the
“C-2” sand (Figure
9), are
indistinguishable, based on lithologic characteristics, from those in the
Sycamore Canyon Member, and paleontologic data in this dominantly
sandstone interval are sparse. Within the Upper Miocene section, the top
of the Soquel Member is the best horizon for regional correlation.
The correlations
locally of individual sandstone units are well defined by hundreds of
closely spaced wells. In the footwall block of the Whittier fault, steeply
south-dipping, channel-shaped, Lower Pliocene and Upper Miocene sandstone
units pinchout updip, generally more than 2000 feet from the main Whittier
fault. On
Figure 9,
updip from the sandstone pinchouts, paleontological data show that the
Yorba Member underlies the Lower Fernando Member, which demonstrates the
absence updip of strata equivalent to the Sycamore Canyon Member and is
the best evidence in the study area for the early growth of the
Whittier fault. The structural and stratigraphic details
of isolated sandstone units within a fault slice near the
Whittier fault,
termed “D” sands and Ballard sands by the operator, are not as well known.
The correlation of these sandstones with the downdip Soquel sandstone has
been established by using paleontological data and bedding dips from cores
and dipmeters (Figure
8 and
Figure 9).
The Whittier fault
has been intersected by numerous wellbores in northwest Brea-Olinda and is
well defined at shallow depths. However, the surface trace of the fault is
usually covered by colluvium and only approximately located. Wells drilled
from the hanging wall block penetrate La Vida strata juxtaposed against
Fernando strata in the footwall block (Figure
6). Several
wellbores, directionally-drilled from the footwall block, cross the
Whittier fault from Soquel
sandstone or Division D strata into lower La Vida strata or
metavolcanic basement rocks in the hanging wall block at depths between
3000 and 6000 feet (cf.
Figure 6
and
Figure 7).
Yerkes (1972) places the
Whittier fault trace along the southern boundary of a
fault-bounded slice of Yorba siltstone. Previous workers (Shell Oil
Company proprietary reports) have suggested that a large landslide of La
Vida strata covers the
Whittier fault in
this area (Figures
6,
7,
and
8).
The evidence for this interpretation includes the presence of La Vida and
Yorba siltstones at shallow depths in wellbores and south of the projected
location of the Whittier fault based on well data. Either the dip of the
Whittier
fault flattens considerably near the surface or landslide deposits cover
the fault trace. The landslide interpretation has been preferred for this
study because of (1) the lack of evidence of flattening on the Whittier
fault to the northwest and southeast; (2) the presence of numerous recent
landslides of La Vida throughout the Puente Hills (Durham and Yerkes,
1962, Yerkes, 1972 and Tan et al., 1984); and (3) the compatibility of a
large landslide interpretation with surface features. The surface trace of
the Whittier fault mapped by Yerkes (1972) would
approximately locate the toe of the landslide. Valleys at higher
elevations in the Puente Hills are reasonably oriented to have formed
along a scarp at the head of the landslide. Small normal faults, numerous
small folds, and an apparently partially covered diabase sill further
characterize the landslide area. The possible areal extent of the
landslide block is shown on
Figure 4.
Brea and
Tonner Canyon
Areas
of Central Brea-Olinda Oil Field
The Tonner and
Menchego faults (operator terminology) are the dominant structural
features of the central area of the Brea-Olinda oil field. The faults have
been intersected by wellbores in which microfaunal data and log
correlations indicate the presence of repeated sections (Figure12
and
Figure 14).
In many cases, the repeated sections are within a predominantly siltstone
interval and could not have been identified without the use of
paleontological data. In other cases, sandstone strata appear to have been
fault-truncated but, in the absence of paleontological data, could also have been interpreted to have pinched out. The presence
of the Tonner fault is most clearly indicated by the
microfaunal evidence of the Soquel
Member in several
wells at shallow depths and by the coincidence of the upward projection of
the fault with a mapped surface fault (cf. Tan et al., 1984 and
Figure13).
A conglomeratic sandstone on the north side of that fault in Tonner Canyon
has been mapped as the Lower Fernando Member by Tan et al. (1984) and as
the La Habra Formation by Durham and Yerkes (1972). These interpretations
are not compatible with the presence of foraminifera of Division D age at
a depth of about 500 feet in the Mobil Tonner 24 well just north of the
fault (Figure
14). The sandstone is inferred to be part of the Yorba Member based
on the presence of conglomeratic sandstones in the Yorba Member in the
subsurface. Thick sandstones in the Yorba Member are not common in
outcrops but are common in the subsurface. The Menchego fault does not
appear to reach the surface and possibly does not penetrate the Upper
Fernando Member. The Menchego and Tonner faults, as well as sand pinchouts,
provide critical updip and lateral closure for oil accumulations in the
turbidite channel sandstones of the Sycamore Canyon Member.
The relationship of
the Tonner and Menchego faults to the proto-Whittier fault (See Bjorklund
and Burke, 2000) for a discussion of the proto-Whittier fault), which is
critically important in understanding the evolution of the Whittier fault
system, is well defined by surface and well data in this area. A diabase
unit crops out for a distance of about 3000 feet just north of
Brea Canyon, and its south contact, which is covered by alluvial deposits,
marks the location of the proto-Whittier fault (cf. Yerkes) (Figure
11).
Tan et al. (1984) extend the proto-Whittier fault trace about 8000 feet to the southeast with decreasing throw, showing the La Vida
siltstone on the north in fault contact with the Soquel sandstone on the
south. Farther to the southeast, the contact between the La Vida and
Soquel Members has been interpreted to be depositional, and the subsurface
location of the proto-Whittier fault has been inferred from surface folding and several thousand feet of separation of lower La
Vida strata. The relationships shown on
Figure 23
and nearby cross sections establish that uplift of the north block
of the Whittier fault system has been formed by (1) inversion of the
Whittier half-graben that has been accommodated by displacement on the
Menchego and Tonner faults, with dips approximately the same as the
inferred dip of the Whittier fault in the basement, (2) by displacement on
the proto-Whittier fault and (3) by folding (Bjorklund and Burke, 2002).
The southernmost, throughgoing fault at the surface in this area, which is
the Tonner fault, has been mapped as the
Whittier fault in this publication.
Return to top.
Carbon
Canyon Area of Southeast Brea-Olinda Oil Field
and Yorba Linda and
Esperanza Oil Fields
The Lower Fernando
Member is unusually thick in the Carbon Canyon area due to the presence of
a lower interval of conglomeratic sandstones, termed “A” sands by the
operator (Figure
19 and
Figure 20),
that are not present in the outcrops farther to the east. Isolated
outcrops within the Carbon Canyon floodplain have been identified by
Durham and Yerkes (1962) and Tan et al. (1984) as the
Sycamore Canyon Member but probably correlate with the Lower Pliocene “A”
sands. On the maps and cross sections in this publication, the location of
the base of the Lower Fernando Member below the alluvial cover as
interpreted by Tan et al. (1984) and
Durham
and Yerkes (1962) has been modified to reflect the presence of the “A”
sands.
About 1300 feet northwest of
Figure 17
along the strike of the Whittier (Tonner) fault, trenching was conducted
to look for evidence of recent movement on the Whittier fault near Olinda
Creek (Gath et al., 1992) (See Bjorklund and Burke, 2002 for additional
discussion of the trenching). Although the conclusions of the study on
fault kinematics are not convincing, the trenches established a dip on the
Whittier fault of about 25 degrees to a depth of 10 feet. The
Tonner fault , which has a north dip of 55 degrees in the subsurface, or a
related splay fault may flatten at the surface in this area.
Between Brea-Olinda
and Esperanza oil fields, well data near the Whittier fault are widely
spaced. Two wells intersected the fault at about 2000 feet and
several deeper wells that did not intersect the fault limit its maximum
possible dip (Figures
19,
20,
21,
22,
and
23).
With one exception, the surface contact along this segment of the Whittier
fault for this study is the contact mapped by Tan et al. (1984). In the
vicinity of
Figure 22
and
Figure 23,
Tan et al. (1984) show the La Vida Member in the north block of the
Whittier fault in contact with the Yorba Member on south. Surface
paleontologic data indicate that the age of the unit mapped as the Yorba
Member is Division D in age and instead correlates with the Soquel Member.
On this basis, the surface contact of the Whittier fault has been placed
at the south contact of that unit, which is the contact with the Sycamore
Canyon Member.
Outcrops in the
area of Esperanza have been highly deformed in the core of the La Habra
syncline. Tan et al. (1984) interpreted the relationships of outcrops of
the Sycamore Canyon and Yorba Members in this area to reflect tight
folding. Durham and Yerkes (1964) instead invoked a complex pattern of
faults to explain the outcrop distribution. The well data in Esperanza
field are no easier to interpret, but the simplest interpretation is one
in which the deformation has been accommodated mainly by flexural slip and
not by faulting (Figure 24). This interpretation is based on abundant dipmeter and
paleontologic data. The deformational style is compatible with the likely
mechanical properties of the uniform section of the relatively thin,
alternating sandstone and siltstone beds that characterize the
Sycamore Canyon
and Yorba Members in the area. A similar deformational style is present at
Whittier oil field along the northwestern segment of the
Whittier
fault in a similar thin-bedded section (footwall structure in
Figure 34
). In contrast, the equivalent strata in Brea-Olinda oil field are
dominated by thick intervals of stacked, unfaulted,
conglomeratic, turbidite-channel sandstones that exhibit homoclinal
dips on the north limb of the
La Habra syncline.
Figure 25
and
Figure 26,
extending from Yorba Linda oil field to Esperanza oil field, intersect
Figures 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,
and 24
and establish a western plunge along the axis of the
La Habra syncline of about 12 degrees. Conglomerates in the Upper Fernando
in Yorba Linda
oil field produce heavy oil (12- 14oAPI)
by steam stimulation. Lying immediately below strata of the La Habra
Formation, the Upper Conglomerate (operator terminology) is the youngest
oil-productive reservoir in the NELAB, producing heavy oil from a depth of
about 600 feet (Figure
25).
Abbreviated Figure
Captions (27-36) Accompanying Thumbnails
(Note: Complete captions with full-scale images.)
 Figure 27.
Cross section of Santa Ana Canyon and the southeast segment of the Whittier fault.
 Figure 28.
Cross section of Kraemer oil field, Esperanza oil field, and the Chino
Hills.
 Figure 29.
Cross section of Richfield oil field, Yorba Linda oil
field, and the Chino Hills.
 Figure 30.
Cross section of Brea-Olinda oil field and the central segment of the
Whittier fault.
 Figure 31.
Cross section of East Coyote oil field, Brea-Olinda oil field, and the
Puente Hills.
 Figure 32.
Cross section of La Mirada oil field, Leffingwell and Sansinena oil fields,
and the Puente Hills.
 Figure 33.
Cross section of Leffingwell oil field, Whittier oil field, and the Puente
Hills
 Figure 34.
Cross section of Whittier oil field, Turnbull oil field, and the northwest
segment of Whittier fault.
Click here to view
sequence of cross sections of Whittier fault and associated structures
from
southeast
to
northwest (Figures 27, 29, 31, 34).
 Figure 35.
Longitudinal cross section of Montebello oil field,
Whittier Narrows, Puente and Chino Hills,
and Chino fault.
 Figure 36.
Cross section of Anaheim nose, East Coyote oil field, Brea-Olinda oil
field, and Puente Hills.
Return to top.
Ten regional cross
sections have been constructed to provide a wider, 3-D perspective within
which to view the structural interpretation of the Whittier fault and to
insure that the structural contour maps are reasonable and consistent
across the study area (Figures 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36).
See
Figure 4
for the
locations of the cross sections.). Figures 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 together with the oil
field cross sections above complete a grid of cross sections that covers
the Puente and Chino Hills and most of the oil fields along the south
flank of the La Habra syncline. The structural and stratigraphic
interpretations south of the La Habra syncline are based on limited well
data and, in some cases, have been modified from published reports. They
are not comprehensive analyses. Except at the ends of the Whittier fault (Figure
27,
Figure 33,
and
Figure
35), the cross
sections have been balanced with respect to bed length and area in the
vicinity of the Whittier fault, but only the sections along the central
segment of the fault are well constrained (See Bjorklund and Burke, 2002,
Fig. 12, Appendix A, for a discussion of balancing methodology).
Figure
35 extends across the Puente Hills eastward from Whittier Narrows to the
Chino fault, and
Figure 36
extends from the Puente Hills southward to the
Anaheim nose. Both of these cross sections incorporate
P-wave seismic tomographic data (Zhou, 1994,) and extend to depths of
50,000 feet (See Bjorklund, et al., 2002 for additional
discussion).
Figure 27,
Figure 30,
and
Figure
34 are
representative of the central, southeast and northwest segments of the
Whittier fault, respectively (See Bjorklund and Burke, 2002 for additional
discussion.)
Plate Captions (1-6)
 Plate 1.
Structure map on the top of the Sycamore Canyon Member (hanging wall
block).
 Plate 2.
Structure map on the top of the Sycamore Canyon Member (footwall block).
 Plate
3.
Structure map on the top of the Soquel Member (hanging wall block).
 Plate 4.
Structure map on the top of the Soquel Member (footwall block).
 Plate 5.
Structure map of the Whittier fault.
 Plate 6.
Structure map of the proto-Whittier fault
Click here to
sequence of maps of hanging wall block (Plates 1, 3).
Click here to
view sequence of maps of footwall block (Plates 2, 4).
Description
The absence of any
single lithologic unit that can be correlated continuously across the
study area and the lithologic similarities of many of the rock units
create difficulties in the construction of area-wide structure maps and a
dependence on paleontologic data to establish correlations. In practice,
boundaries of formation members have been extended from areas with
paleontologic data on the basis of lithologic characteristics. The highest
quality well data are assumed to be those data that have been obtained
from the operators. For example, the well data from Aera Energy in Brea-Olinda
oil field have been used, in most cases, in preference over published
data. Errors in well correlations are believed to be generally less than
500 feet, although, in a few cases, errors in exploratory wells and deep
field wells could be greater. Because of the contrasting lithologies of
units on opposite sides of the Whittier fault, interpretations of fault
boundaries are usually reliable.
To avoid overlap of
structural contours, the structure contour maps on the top of the Sycamore
Canyon Member and the top of the Soquel Member are shown on separate maps
of the hanging wall and footwall blocks of the Whittier fault (Plates
1,
2,
3,
and
4).
For small reverse faults within the footwall block, only the hanging wall
cutoffs have been shown on the maps. Both the hanging wall and footwall
cutoffs are shown for the larger normal faults in the hanging wall block.
The Sycamore Canyon structure map of the footwall block (Plate
2), which
is based on more well data than the Soquel structure map of the footwall
block (Plate 4),
has been used to estimate the depths to the Soquel Member in areas of no
well control. Estimates of the depths to the top of the Soquel Member and
the top of the Sycamore Canyon Member in the axial area of the La Habra
syncline are based on projections from wells on the flanks of the
structure. Due to erosion, the top of the Sycamore Canyon Member can only
be reliably mapped over the northwest part of the hanging wall block of
the Whittier fault (Plate
1). Although
the top of the Soquel Member has been eroded over the crest area of the
Puente Hills anticline in the hanging wall block, the lower part of the
Soquel Member is present in scattered outcrops, and a restored elevation
of the top of the Soquel Member can be reliably estimated in those areas (Plate
3). In areas of
closely spaced wells, all well data are not shown on the structure maps to
avoid overprinting.
The Whittier fault has
been mapped as a continuous fault from the Santa Ana Canyon to the
Whittier Narrows (Durham and Yerkes, 1964, Yerkes, 1972 and Tan, et al.,
1984) (Plate 5).
The southeasternmost outcrop of the Whittier fault is located at Bee
Canyon, north of the Santa Ana River (Tan et al., 1984). Southeast of that
point, the Whittier fault is covered by alluvium (See Bjorklund and
Burke, 2002 for additional discussion of this area). Between Brea-Olinda
oil field and the
Santa Ana Canyon,
Durham and Yerkes
(1964) have mapped several faults associated with the Whittier fault
system, whereas Tan et al., (1984) have mapped a single, through-going
trace. The single trace interpretation has been adopted in this study,
because well data do not require multiple fault traces. In the Brea Canyon
area of Brea-Olinda oil field, the proto-Whittier fault and the Tonner
fault crop out (Plate
6). The Tonner
fault has been mapped as the active segment of the Whittier fault in this
area because of its continuity and the results of a trench study across it
that reported offsets of strata dated at about 15,000 years before the
present (Gath et al., 1992). Northwest of Brea-Olinda oil field, a
possible paleolandslide may obscure the location of the Whittier (See
Figure 4
and the Puente Hills area discussion above). At Whittier oil field, three
faults have been mapped at the surface over a distance of 11,000 feet (Yerkes, 1972). The northernmost of the three faults, which has a
well-defined trace and appears to be continuous across the field, has been
mapped in this study as the Whittier fault. The northwesternmost outcrop
of the Whittier fault is located north of the city of
Whittier in Turnbull
Canyon (Yerkes, 1972). From that point northwest to the
Whittier
Narrows, the Whittier fault is covered by alluvium, but its location can
be mapped using subsurface data (Plate
5). At the
Whittier Narrows, the points at which the structure maps on the top of the
Sycamore Canyon Member and the top of the Soquel Member do not require
fault separation define the northwest tip line of the
Whittier fault. The nature of the relationship between the
terrace-like linear features in the
eastern Montebello Hills, which have been attributed to possible faulting
(Treiman, 1991), and the Whittier fault is beyond the scope of this study
(See Bjorklund and Burke, 2002 for additional discussion).
Return to top.
Table Captions (1-9)
Table 1.
Wells in hanging wall block with elevations of base Fernando.
Table 2.
Wells in footwall block with elevations of base Fernando.
Table 3.
Wells in hanging wall block with elevations of top Soquel.
Table 4.
Wells in footwall block with elevations of top Soquel.
Table 5.
Wells with elevations of Whittier fault.
Table 6.
Wells with elevations of proto-Whittier fault.
Table 7.
All wells with elevations of base Fernando, top Soquel and faults.
Table 8.
All wells in study area.
Table 9.
Well status codes for wells contained in the database.
Tables
1, 2,
3, 4,
5,
and
6 show the wells used in the construction of the six structure
contour maps (Plates
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
and
6), including the elevations of the contoured horizons in the wells.
The well coordinates included in the tables are the bottom hole locations
of the horizons in the wellbores. For directionally drilled wells, these
coordinates will differ from the surface locations of the wells.
Table 7
is combined list
of all wells for which elevations of the top of the Sycamore Canyon
Member, the top of the Soquel Member, the proto-Whittier fault and the
Whittier fault have been compiled.
Table 8
is a list of the
nearly 8,000 wells in the study area that are in the DOGGR District 1
preliminary digital well database (last updated for this publication in
August 2000). The well coordinates included in these tables are the
surface locations for most of the wells, but well coordinates have not yet
been determined by the DOGGR for all of the wells.
Table 9
is a list of the
meanings of the DOGGR well status codes (status column in the tables).
Banks, P. O., and
Silver, L. T., 1966, Evaluation of the decay constant of uranium-238 from
lead isotope ratios. Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 71, no.16, p.
4037-4046.
Barron, J. A., and
Isaacs, C. M., 2001, Updated chronostratigraphic framework for the
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Formation: From rocks to molecules. Columbia University,
New York, p. 393-395.
Berggren, W. A.,
Kent, D. V., Swisher, C. C., and Aubry, M-P., 1995, A Revised Cenozoic
Geochronology and Chronostratigraphy. In: Berggren, W. A., Kent, D. V.,
Aubry, and M-P, Hardenbol, J. (Eds.). Geochronology time scales and global
stratigraphic correlations. Society of Economic Paleontologists and
Mineralogists Special Publication No. 54, pp. 129- 212.
Birch, F., 1960,
The velocity of compressional waves in rocks to 10 kilobars, 1: Journal of
Geophysical Research, v. 65, p. 1083-1102.
Bjorklund, T., and
Burke, K., 2002, Four-dimensional analysis of the inversion of a half-graben
to form the Whittier fold-fault system of the Los Angeles basin. Journal
of Structural Geology, v. 24, no. 9, p. 1369-1397.
Bjorklund, T.,
Burke, K., Yeats, R. S., and Zhou, H., 2002, Miocene rifting in the Los
Angeles basin: Evidence from the Puente Hills half-graben, volcanic rocks
and P-wave tomography. Geology, v. 30, no. 5, p. 447-450.
Blake, G. H., 1991,
Review of the Neogene biostratigraphy and stratigraphy of the Los Angeles
basin and implications for basin evolution. In: Biddle, K. T. (Ed.).
Active margin basins. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir
52, p. 135-184.
Durham, D. L., and
Yerkes, R. F., 1964, Geology and oil resources of the eastern Puente Hills
area, southern California. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper
420-B.
Fife, D. L., Minch,
J. A., and Crampton, P. J., 1967, Late Jurassic age of the Santiago Peak
Volcanics, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 78, no.
2, p. 299-303.
Herzog, D. W.,
1998, Subsurface structural evolution along the northern Whittier fault
zone of the eastern Los Angeles basin, Southern California. Master’s
thesis, Oregon State Univ. Ingersoll, R. V., Rumelhart, P. E., 1999.
Three-stage evolution of the Los Angeles basin, Southern California.
Geology, v. 27, no. 7, p. 593-596.
Imlay, R. W., 1964,
Middle and Upper Jurassic fossils from southern California. Journal of
Paleontology, v. 38, p. 505-509.
Gath, E. M.,
Gonzalez, T., and Rockwell, T. K., 1992, Evaluation of the Late Quaternary
rate of slip, Whittier fault, Southern California. U.S. Geological Survey
Final Technical Report-Contract No. 14-08-0001-G1696.
Lang, H. R., 1978,
Late Cretaceous biostratigraphy of the southeastern Los Angeles basin.
California Division of Oil and Gas Report No. TR20.
Larsen, E. S., Jr.,
Gottfried, D., Jaffee, H. W., and Waring, C. L., 1958, Lead-alpha ages of
the Mesozoic batholiths of North America. U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin
1070-B, p. 35-62.
McCulloh, T. H.,
Beyer, L. A., and Enrico, R. J., 2000, Paleogene strata of the eastern Los
Angeles basin, California: paleogeography and constraints on Neogene
structural evolution. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 112, no.
7, p. 1155-1178.
Mayer, L., 1991,
Central Los Angeles basin: Subsidence and thermal implications for
tectonic evolution. In: Biddle, K. T. (Ed.). Active margin basins.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 52, p. 185-195.
Shaw, J.H., and
Shearer, P.M., 1999, An elusive blind-thrust fault beneath metropolitan
Los Angeles: Science, v. 283, p. 1516-1518.
Shelton, J.S.,
1955, Glendora volcanic rocks, Los Angeles basin, California: Geological
Society of America Bulletin, v. 66, p. 45-89.
Schoellhamer, J.
E., Vedder, J. G., Yerkes, R. F., and Kinney, D. M., 1981, Geology of the
northern Santa Ana Mountains,
California.
U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 420-D.
Tan, S. S., Miller,
R. V., and Evans, J. R., 1984, Environmental geology of parts of the La
Habra, Yorba Linda and Prado Dam quadrangles, Orange County, California.
California Division of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 84-24.
Turner, D. L.,
1970, Potassium-argon dating of Pacific Coast Miocene foraminiferal
stages. Geological Society of America Special Paper 124, p. 91-129.
Treiman, J. A.,
1991, Whittier fault zone, Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California.
California Division of Mines and Geology Fault Evaluation Report FER-222.
West, J.C., and
Redin, T. W., 1991, Correlation section across eastern Los Angeles basin
from San Pedro
Bay
to San Gabriel Mountains CS 29. American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, Pacific Section.
Wissler, S. G.,
1943, Stratigraphic Formations of the producing zones of the Los Angeles
basin oil fields. Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 118, p. 209-234.
Woodford, A. O.,
Shelton, J. S., and Moran, T. G., 1944, Geology and oil possibilities of
Puente and San Jose hills, California. U. S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas
Investigations Preliminary Map 23.
Woodward, A. F.,
1958, Sansinena oil field. In: Higgins, J. W. (Ed.), A guide to the
geology and oil fields of the Los Angeles and Ventura Regions. Pacific
Section of American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 109-118.
Yeats, R. S., and Beall, J. M., 1991, Stratigraphic
controls of oil fields in the Los Angeles basin: a guide to migration
history. In: Biddle, K. T. (Ed.). Active margin basins. American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 52, p. 221-237.
Yerkes, R. F., 1972, Geology and oil resources of the
western Puente Hills area, Southern California. U. S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 420-C.
Yerkes, R.F., 1957, Volcanic rocks of the El Modeno area,
Orange County, California. Reston, Virginia, U. S. Geological Survey
Professional Paper 274-L, p. 313-334.
Zhou, H., 1994, Crustal P and S velocities in southern
California from a master station inversion using Fresnel volume rays: Eos
(Transactions, American Geophysical Union), v. 75, no. 44, p. 483-484.
Return to top.
Figure 1.
Index map of the Los Angeles basin and surrounding uplifts. Red dashed
rectangle shows the area covered by the maps in this document (See
Figure
2 for shaded relief map of area.). Northeastern Los Angeles basin (NELAB),
Chino fault (CF), Elysian Park Anticline (EPA), Palos Verdes Hills (PVH),
San Gabriel Valley (SGV), San Jacinto Valley (SJV), San Jose Hills (SJH),
Santa Ana Mountain Boundary Fault (SAMBF).
Figure 2.
Shaded relief map of the northeastern Los Angeles basin (Mosaic of 11 USGS
10 meter 7.5 minute Digital Elevation Models (DEMS) with 3x vertical
exaggeration). Chino fault (CF),
Rio Hondo (RH), San Gabriel river
(SGR), San Jose Hills (SJH), Santa Ana Mountains (SAM),
Santa Ana river (SAR), Whittier
Heights fault (WHF), Workman Hills fault (WoHF).
Figure 3.
Stratigraphic column. Green bar shows oil source rock interval. MAX (m)
indicates approximate maximum thickness of a unit in meters in the study
area. Cenozoic ages from Turner (1970), Blake (1991), Berggren et al.
(1995), McCulloh et al. (2000), Barron and Isaacs (2001). Mesozoic ages
from Larson, et al. (1958), Imlay (1964), Banks and Silver (1966) Fife et
al. (1967). Divisions A through F are benthic foraminiferal divisions from
Wissler (1943) with ages of division boundaries from Blake (1991) and
Barron and Isaacs (2001). Time of maximum subsidence of Los Angeles basin
from Ingersoll and Rumelhart (1999, Fig. 3).
Figure 4.
Index map of cross sections. Oil fields are Chino-Soquel (CS),
Brea-Olinda (BO), East Coyote (EC),
East Los Angeles (ELA), Esperanza (E),
Kraemer (Kr), Mahala (Ma), Montebello (Mo),
North Whittier Heights (NWH), Olive (O),
Richfield (RI), Rideout Heights (RO),
Sansinena (Sa), Santa Fe Springs (SF),
Turnbull (T), West Coyote (WC),
Whittier (W) and Yorba Linda (YL). Numbers accompanying cross section
lines are figure numbers.
Figure 5. Cross
section of Sansinena oil field, East Area
Figure 6. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Puente lease.
Figure 7. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Puente lease.
Figure 8. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, east Puente lease.
Figure 9. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field, east Puente lease.
Figure 10. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Naranjal, Orange, and Rowland leases.
Figure 11. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Brea, Pico, and Grazide leases.
Figure 12. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, west Stearns and Menchego leases.
Figure 13. Cross
section (a) of Brea-Olinda oil field, central Stearns and Tonner leases.
Figure 14. Cross
section (b) of Brea-Olinda oil field,
central Stearns and Tonner leases.
Figure 15. Cross
section (c) of Brea-Olinda oil field, central Stearns and Tonner leases.
Figure 16. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Naranjal and east Stearns leases.
Figure 17. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, 100-acre, Columbia, and Olinda leases.
Figure 18. Cross
section of Brea-Olinda oil field, Olinda and Olinda Fee 2, 3, and 4
leases.
Figure 19. Cross
section of Yorba Linda and Brea-Olinda oil fields, Olinda Fee 1 and 4
leases.
Figure 20. Cross
section of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 1 and 4 leases.
Figure 21. Cross
section (a) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
Figure 22. Cross
section (b) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
Figure 23. Cross
section (c) of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
Figure 24. Cross
section of Esperanza oil field, Dometal lease.
Figure 25.
Longitudinal cross section of Yorba Linda oil field, Olinda Fee 4 lease.
Figure 26.
Longitudinal cross section of East Yorba Linda oil field.
Return to top.
Figure 27.
Southeastern segment of the Whittier fault across Santa Ana Canyon.
Interpretation of hanging-wall block of Santa Ana Mountain Boundary Fault
(footwall block of Whittier fault) is based mainly on surface mapping of
Durham and Yerkes (1964) and Schoellhamer et al. (1981) and wells not on
section. Interpretation of hanging-wall block of Whittier fault below well
depths is based on the thickness of the Cretaceous sequence in Prado
Petroleum Government No. 165-1 well (Lang, 1978), located 3.3 km southeast
of the section line, and the extrapolation of outcrop data from the Santa
Ana Mountains. The base of the Lower Fernando Member is approximately
located with unpublished microfaunal data (Aera Energy LLC) from Grayco
Oil Grayco No. 1 well.
Figure 28.
Kraemer oil field to Esperanza oil field and the Chino Hills. This section
is the best illustration in the area of the striking differences in
thickness between the La Vida Member on the north and south sides of
Whittier
fault; these are inferred to indicate Miocene rifting (Bjorklund and
Burke, 2002). Approximately one mile north of the
Whittier fault, the Shell Wright 73-18 well penetrated over
4000 feet of La Vida siltstone, rift deposits, and diabase. Nearly 1500
feet of that interval is the Diamond Bar sandstone, which is not present
south of the
Whittier fault. The equivalent interval approximately one mile south of
the Whittier fault in the Texaco Travis 1 well, which is located 3000 feet
southeast of this
section, is 1510 feet
thick and contains no significant sandstone units or diabase. Even if the
La Vida Member were somewhat thicker northwest of the Travis well and if
the La Vida Member were repeated by unrecognized faults in the Wright
well, the conclusion that rift deposition north of the Whittier fault must
account for the differences in thickness seems inescapable. The structural
features associated with the hanging wall and footwall blocks of the
Whittier fault are similar to those found at Brea-Olinda oil field; that
is, steeply dipping, faulted forelimb beds and gently dipping backlimb
beds. However, at Esperanza, the structural interpretation of the basement
block is largely conceptual because of the lack of deep wells and has been
derived from constraints imposed by bed length and area assumptions (See
Bjorklund and Burke, 2002, Fig. 12, Appendix A, for a discussion of
balancing methodology). Any structural interpretation must account for
5000 feet of uplift of the north block of the Whittier fault. The
interpretation of the stratigraphic units below the Vaqueros and Sespe
Formations are based on USGS cross sections in the
Santa Ana
Mountains (Schoellhamer et al., 1981). The Pleasants sandstone is inferred
not be present. The Schulz Ranch sandstone and the Silverado Formation
have been interpreted to be thinner than the closest subsurface control,
which is in the Texas Company Irvine NCT-1 No. 1 well to the southeast.
See Figure 24 for
details on the Esperanza oil field.
Figure 29.
Richfield oil field to Yorba Linda oil field and the Chino Hills. Although
wells along this segment of the Whittier fault are sparse, the structure
of the footwall block near the fault is well delineated on this cross
section by surface mapping and dip and paleontological data in several
wells. In the hanging wall block, the Union Gaines 1 well penetrated a
thick section of the La Vida Member that contains sandstone, siltstone and
diabase in the lower part, which are characteristic of the strata in the
inverted half-graben immediately north of the
Whittier
fault. In the Gaines well, Durham and Yerkes (1964) included the Diamond
Bar sandstones in the Topanga Formation. This correlation results in a top
of the Topanga Formation that is structurally too high to be a reasonable
possibility when compared with surrounding wells (See Bjorklund and Burke,
2002, section 1.3.3.1 for a discussion of the Diamond Bar sandstone
correlation problem.). In this publication, the base of the Diamond Bar
sandstone (base of La Vida Member in this area) in the Gaines well has
been picked at a depth of 5860 feet, the top of a volcanic unit. The top
of the Topanga Formation is picked at the base of the volcanic unit. An
alternative interpretation for the top of the Topanga Formation is the top
of the sandstone bed overlying the volcanic unit. However, volcanic rocks
in this area commonly overlie the Topanga Formation but are not known to
occur within it. See Figure 20
for a large-scale cross section of the vicinity of
the Whittier fault.
Figure 30. Central segment of the Whittier
fault across Brea-Olinda oil field. Correlations modified from Durham and
Yerkes (1962). Yeats and Beall (1991) and unpublished data from Aera
Energy LLC (formerly Shell Oil Company). Interpretation of footwall block
of the Whittier fault is based on data from Chevron Murphy-Coyote No. 373
in West Coyote oil field (West and Redin, 1990, McCulloh et al., 2000) and
Prado Petroleum government 165-1 east of the Chino fault and the
extrapolation of outcrop data from the Santa Ana Mountains (Schoellhamer
et al., 1981). Yellow units within Sycamore Canyon and Yorba members
represent oil-productive, turbidite fan-channel sandstones. Sycamore
Canyon member (Tpsc, Yorba Member (Tpy). See Figure 13 for large-scale corss section of the vicinity of the Whittier fault.
Figure 31. East
Coyote oil field to Brea-Olinda oil field and the Puente Hills. This cross
section shows the most prolific oil-producing section along the Whittier
fault, which is located in the footwall block, and the only oil-producing
section north of the fault, which is located on the crest of the hanging
wall block at the structurally highest part of the Puente Hills anticline.
Underlying the Puente A lease in the hanging wall block, oil has been
produced from fractured La Vida siltstone, Topanga sandstone and basement
metavolcanic rocks (e.g. Puente A-3 and A-6). The metavolcanic rocks have
been correlated with the Santiago Peak Volcanics and interpreted to be a
pendant in granite and granodiorite batholithic rocks (Yerkes, 1972). This
is the only known oil accumulation in these intervals in the northeastern
Los Angeles basin. Abundant well and surface data constrain structural
relationships. Bedding dips in the La Vida siltstone in the hanging wall
block range from 30 to 60 degrees, indicating substantial rotation of the
block during uplift. Numerous wells, several of which penetrated
definitive contacts of metavolcanic basement rocks against sedimentary
rocks, define the location of the Whittier fault from sea level to a depth
of more than 7000 feet. See Figure 9
for a larger-scale cross section of the vicinity
of the Whittier fault.
Figure 32.
La Mirada oil field to Leffingwell and Sansinena oil fields and the Puente
Hills. The interpretation shown on this cross section has been modified
from Yerkes (1972) and West and Redin (1991). The Coyote Hills fault,
proposed by Shaw and Shearer (1999), has been added as a possible
alternative interpretation of the Norwalk fault (?). The simplified
interpretation of Sansinena field is based mainly on data provided by
Nuevo Energy Company and Union Oil Company and a published report by
Woodward (1958). The tightly folded anticline in the footwall block has
been established by well data at the top of the Soquel Member. The
anticline has also been mapped at the surface in the Upper Fernando Member
and named the Sansinena nose by the operator (unpublished map, Hoots and
Kinney, 1939). Sansinena 3B48 has been projected to show stratigraphy only
and does not reflect the subsea position of the well. The details of the
structure and stratigraphy in the core of the footwall anticline below the
top of the Soquel sandstone are largely schematic. The basement geometry
of the Whittier fault satisfies constraints for conserving bed length and
area during deformation but is not a unique interpretation. The kinematic
problem of inverting and rotating a half-graben to produce the Sansinena
structure has not been completely resolved. The interpretation of
Leffingwell oil field that has been depicted on this cross section is
speculative. A conglomeratic sandstone nearly 800 feet thick in the
Hathaway Woodward Community K-1 well, which is absent in the Standard
German Community 1 well just 1400 feet to the south, had been correlated
with the Soquel Member, and a volcanic unit in both wells had been
interpreted to dip about 40 degrees north (Yerkes, 1972, Section D-D’,
Plate 2). The overlying Yorba Member and younger strata were shown to be
horizontal and undeformed. This interpretation requires the development of
a compressive structure between ca. 14 Ma and 8 Ma, which would not be
likely in a region that was undergoing extension during that time period.
The interpretation shown on this cross section separates the German
Community and Woodward Community wells with a graben-forming normal fault
that dips north. The conglomeratic sandstone would then correlate with the
lower La Vida and represent a rift deposit in a small half-graben (cf.
Bjorklund and Burke, 2002). Further investigation of the Leffingwell field
area is beyond the scope of this study, but data may be available in the
West Coyote oil field area to evaluate the viability of a half-graben
interpretation.
Figure 33. Leffingwell oil field to
Whittier oil field and the Puente Hills. This section is located near the
point at which the strike of the Whittier fault changes from N70W to
nearly due north (Figure 4). Although only three wells, Union Puente Farms
1 and Shell Pellissier 1 and Bartolo 1, are shown on the cross section
near the Whittier fault, the structure at the top of the Soquel Member is
well delineated. Wells off the section and outcrop data establish the
south dip of the strata in the footwall block and the north dip in the
hanging wall block. The Shell wells penetrated a thin section of strata
equivalent to the Yorba, Soquel, and La Vida Members overlying metamorphic
basement rocks. The La Vida siltstone is less than 1000 feet thick (Yeats
and Beale, 1991) in Pellissier 1. The stratigraphic thickness of the La
Vida Member in the Puente Farms 1 is about 4000 thick, an increase in
thickness of more than 3000 feet over a distance of less than 13000 feet.
This suggests the La Vida strata onlapped a basement surface that dipped
15 degrees to the south. The kinematic problem of determining the
deformational history that led to the present configuration of that wedge
of La Vida siltstone has not been completely resolved. Both the transition
from predominantly dip-slip movement to strike-slip movement on the
north-trending segment of the Whittier fault in the vicinity and
detachment folding may play a role in the development of the structure.
The structure of the footwall block below the Soquel Member is schematic.
The location of the anticline is compatible with the inversion of a thick
wedge of La Vida siltstone. Oil stain and fractures in cores suggest the
presence of the Whittier fault in the Puente Farms 1 well. However, the
fault geometry, the shape of the deformed basement wedge, and the
kinematics that led to the inverted structure are not well known. At total
depth in the Bartolo 1 well, fractured silver-gray slate has been
reported. At total depth in the Pellissier 1 well, fractured, blue-green
metamorphic rock with very fine-grained to "granitic texture" has been
reported. These basement rocks are probably equivalent to the slate
penetrated by several wells north of Montebello oil field (Figure 5).
Refer to Figure 32 for a discussion of the interpretation of the Leffingwell oil field structure. The location of the Coyote Hills fault at
Leffingwell is based entirely on an interpretation of reflection seismic
data (Shaw and Shearer, 1999).
Figure 34. Northwestern segment of the
Whittier fault from Whittier oil field to Turnbull oil field. Microfaunal
divisions (Division E (E), Division D/Division E contact (D/E), Division D
(D) and Division B/Division C contact (B/C)), Yorba Member (Tpy), Sycamore
Canyon Member (Tpsc), Pliocene/Miocene contact (P/C), Lower Fernando
Member (Tfl). Arrows along the wellbore identify locations of microfaunal
data. Modified from Yerkes (1972, cross section C-C’) and Herzog (1998,
cross section C-C’). Interpretation of hanging-wall block based on data
from Daviess and Woodford (1949). The two volcanic or diabase units are
each drilled by a single well (Los Angeles Brewing Jones Community 1 and
Conoco Buehler 1). Woodford, et al. (1944) reported Luisian and Relizian
foraminifera in the latter well. Since the 3-D shape of these igneous
units is not known, the interpretation on the cross section is
speculative.
Figure 35.
Puente and the Chino Hills from Montebello oil field and Whittier Narrows
area to the Chino fault. The cross section shows possible spatial
relationships of volcanic rocks (red) and their upper crustal source
(solid black) based on an integrated interpretation of well and outcrop
data and tomographic velocities. The higher-velocity tomographic anomalies
have been interpreted to reflect the presence of a vertical, stock-like
pluton here named the Whittier Narrows pluton. The pluton would have been
emplaced into the upper crust during the Miocene and acted as magma source
for volcanic rocks. Rock with a bulk density of ca. 2.9 gm/cc and dioritic
composition would correlate with the average block velocity (6.6 km/s) of
the pluton (Birch, 1960). The exact shape of the pluton cannot be resolved
with the grid-spacing of the velocity model of 10x10x3 km. Dashed
rectangles are velocity-model grid blocks with average Pwave velocities
(km/s) shown (After Zhou, 1994) (See Bjorklund et al., 2002 for additional
details.) Faults: Chino (CF), Handorf (HF), Whittier Heights (WHF). Toward
the observer (T), away from the observer (A).
Figure 36.
Anaheim nose to East Coyote oil field, Brea-Olinda oil field and the
Puente Hills. The cross section shows possible spatial relationships of
volcanic rocks (red) and their upper crustal source (solid black) based on
an integrated interpretation of well and outcrop data and tomographic
velocities. The higher-velocity tomographic anomalies have been
interpreted to reflect the presence of a vertical, sill-like pluton here
named the El Modeno pluton. The pluton would have been emplaced into the
upper crust during the Miocene and acted as magma source for volcanic
rocks. Rock with a bulk density of ca. 2.9 gm/cc and dioritic composition
would correlate with the average block velocity (6.6 km/s) of the pluton
(Birch, 1960). The exact shape of the pluton cannot be resolved with the
grid-spacing of the velocity model of 10x10x3 km. Dashed rectangles are
velocity-model grid blocks with average P-wave velocities (km/s) shown
(After Zhou, 1994) (See Bjorklund et al., 2002 for additional details.).
(See Figure13 for a
large-scale cross section
of this part of Brea-Olinda oil field and this segment of Whittier fault,
along with associated faults.)
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