| Kern River Beds Formation Stratigraphic range: Neogene | |
|---|---|
| Type | Formation |
| Underlies | Pleistocene alluvium |
| Overlies | Etchegoin Formation, Chanac Formation |
| Thickness | 500–2,600 feet (150–790 m) |
| Location | |
| Region | San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, California |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Kern River |
The Kern River Beds Formation is a Neogene Period geologic formation in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, within Kern County, California. [1]
The Kern River Beds Formation crops out in a roughly crescent-shaped belt, about 12 miles (19 km) wide at its widest, from Caliente Creek on the south to the Terra Bella vicinity on the north, a length of around 50 miles (80 km). [1] It ranges from 500–2,600 feet (150–790 m) in thickness. Where it does not outcrop, it is overlaid by Pleistocene Period alluvium. [1]
The Kern River Series is composed of non-marine gravels, sands, and clays unconformably overlying the marine Miocene Period rocks in the Kern River area of the San Joaquin Valley. [1] The Kern River Series is divided into an upper unit, the Kern River Beds Formation, and a lower unit named the Chanac Formation, with the wedge of the Etchegoin Formation in the middle in the central and western sections. [1]
The Kern River Beds consists mostly of pale-yellow to light-brown sandstone and conglomerate, with interbeds of greenish-gray or greenish-brown siltstone and mudstone. [1]
The Kern River Oil Field wells are located on a section of the formation north of the Kern River Bluffs and Bakersfield. [1] The producing interval in the Kern River Formation of the Kern River oil field has been divided into two zones separated by water-bearing sand lentils. The lower producing zone is called the China Grade Zone, and the upper is the Kern River Zone. [1]
The Kern River Beds Formation preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene Period of the Cenozoic Era. [1] [2]
The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Transverse Ranges. The present basin is a coastal lowland area, whose floor is marked by elongate low ridges and groups of hills that is located on the edge of the Pacific Plate. The Los Angeles Basin, along with the Santa Barbara Channel, the Ventura Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and the San Gabriel Basin, lies within the greater southern California region. On the north, northeast, and east, the lowland basin is bound by the Santa Monica Mountains and Puente, Elysian, and Repetto hills. To the southeast, the basin is bordered by the Santa Ana Mountains and the San Joaquin Hills. The western boundary of the basin is marked by the Continental Borderland and is part of the onshore portion. The California borderland is characterized by northwest trending offshore ridges and basins. The Los Angeles Basin is notable for its great structural relief and complexity in relation to its geologic youth and small size for its prolific oil production. Yerkes et al. identify five major stages of the basin's evolution, which began in the Upper Cretaceous and ended in the Pleistocene. This basin can be classified as an irregular pull-apart basin accompanied by rotational tectonics during the post-early Miocene.
The Alum Bluff Group is a geologic group in the states of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period.
The Bone Valley Formation is a geologic formation in Florida. It is sometimes classified as the upper member of the Peace River Formation of the Hawthorn Group. It contains economically important phosphorite deposits that are mined in west-central Florida, as well as rich assemblages of vertebrate fossils.
The San Andres Formation is a geologic formation found in New Mexico and Texas. It contains fossils characteristic of the late Leonardian (Kungurian) Age) of the Permian Period.
The Virgin Formation is a geologic formation in Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period.
The Madera Group is a group of geologic formations in northern New Mexico. Its fossil assemblage dates the formation to the middle to late Pennsylvanian period.
The Muddy Creek Formation is a geologic formation in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene period.
The Mulholland Formation is a Pliocene epoch geologic formation in the Berkeley Hills and San Leandro Hills of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. It is found within Alameda County and Contra Costa County.
The Cajon Valley Beds is a sedimentary geologic formation in the El Cajon Valley of southwestern San Diego County, California.
The Etchegoin Formation is a Pliocene epoch geologic formation in the lower half of the San Joaquin Valley in central California.
The Crowder Formation is a geologic formation in the Central and Western Mojave Desert, in northern Los Angeles County and eastern San Bernardino County, in Southern California.
The Chanac Formation is a Cenozoic Era sandstone geologic formation in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, within Kern County, California.
The Temblor Formation is a geologic formation in California. It preserves fossils dating back from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene of the Neogene period. It is notable for the famous Sharktooth Hill deposit.
The Tulare Formation is a Pliocene to Holocene epoch geologic formation in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley of central California.
The Topanga Canyon Formation is a Miocene epoch geologic formation in the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills, Santa Ana Mountains and San Joaquin Hills, in Los Angeles County, Ventura County, and Orange County, southern California. It is primarily composed of hard sandstone with some inter-bedded siltstone.
The Santa Margarita Formation is a Neogene Period geologic formation in the San Joaquin Valley of central California.
The Santa Clara Formation is a geologic formation in the southeastern Santa Cruz Mountains, in Santa Clara County, California.
The San Joaquin Formation is a Pliocene epoch geologic formation in the lower half of the San Joaquin Valley in central California.
The Tejon Formation is a Paleogene period geologic formation in California.
The Tecopa Lake Beds is a Blancan Pleistocene geologic formation in the Mojave Desert in eastern California. It is in the Tecopa area, east of Death Valley, in southeastern Inyo and northeastern San Bernardino County.
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