| Merced Formation Stratigraphic range: Pliocene, Neogene Period | |
|---|---|
| Type | Geologic formation |
| Underlies | Colma Formation (California) |
| Overlies | Bedrock (California) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | sedimentary rock (California) |
| Location | |
| Region | San Francisco Bay Area of California, Oregon, Washington (state) |
| Country | United States |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Lake Merced |
The Merced Formation is a geologic formation in California, and also in Oregon and Washington state. It is named for Lake Merced, a natural lake on the western San Francisco coastline.
In the coastal San Francisco Bay Area of California the Merced Formation was deposited in a small sedimentary basin that formed along the San Andreas Fault during the last two million years during the Pliocene age of the Neogene period, in the Cenozoic Era. USGS.gov: "San Andreas Fault and Coastal Geology, from Half Moon Bay to Fort Funston: Crustal Motion, Climate Change, and Human Activity" [1]
The fault cut the basin into two pieces and moved the pieces apart. It is found on the east side of the fault in western San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. On the west side of the fault it was carried 20 miles (32 km) north to the Bolinas headlands of western Marin County. [1]
Fort Funston is on a bluff made up of exposed sedimentary rocks of the Merced Formation, in San Francisco within the NPS Golden Gate National Recreation Area. [1]
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties. The Peninsular Ranges lie to the south. The name Transverse Ranges is due to their east–west orientation, making them transverse to the general northwest–southeast orientation of most of California's coastal mountains.
The Jalama Formation is a sedimentary rock formation widespread in southern Santa Barbara County and northern Ventura County, southern California. Of the Late Cretaceous epoch, the unit consists predominantly of clay shale with some beds of sandstone.
The Claremont Shale is a Miocene epoch geologic formation in the Berkeley Hills of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
The Moraga Formation or Moraga Volcanics is a Pliocene epoch volcanic geologic formation in the Berkeley Hills of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
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 Neroly Formation is a geologic formation in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
The Orinda Formation is a Miocene epoch geologic formation in the Berkeley Hills of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
The Pinole Tuff Formation is a geologic formation of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
The Punchbowl Formation is a sedimentary sandstone geologic formation in the northern San Gabriel Mountains, above the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County, southern California.
The Cajon Valley Beds is a sedimentary geologic formation in the El Cajon Valley of southwestern San Diego County, California.
The Briones Formation is a Late/Upper Miocene epoch geologic formation of the East Bay region in the San Francisco Bay Area, 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 Lake Mathews Formation is a geologic formation in Riverside County, California.
The Tulare Formation is a Pliocene to Holocene epoch geologic formation in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley of central California.
The San Pablo Formation is a Late/Upper Miocene epoch geologic formation of the East Bay region in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
The San Joaquin Formation is a Pliocene epoch geologic formation in the lower half of the San Joaquin Valley in central California.
The San Benito Gravels is a Quaternary Epoch geologic formation in California.
The Turlock Lake Formation is an Early Pleistocene geologic formation in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Sacramento County, California. Cities in/over the formation's area include Citrus Heights, Carmichael, and Roseville.
 | This article about a specific stratigraphic formation in California is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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| | This article about a specific stratigraphic formation in Washington is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
