Kern River Beds
| 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]
Geography
[edit]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]
Geology
[edit]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]
Oil sands
[edit]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]
Fossils
[edit]The Kern River Beds Formation preserves fossils dating back to the Neogene Period of the Cenozoic Era.[1][2]
See also
[edit]
- Geology of Kern County, California
- Neogene California
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California
- Paleontology in California
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i USGS.gov: "The Kern River Formation, Southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California"; Geological Survey Bulletin 1529-D; By J. Alan Bartow and Gardner M. Pittman; United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.; 1983 (with map on pg. D4).
- ^ Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- Dibblee, T. W., Jr., Bruer, W. G., Hackel, Otto, and Warne, A. H., 1965, Geologic Map of the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, in Hackel, Otto, Chairman, Geology of southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, Kern River to Grapevine Canyon: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, April 3, 1965, Guidebook, scale about 1:48,000.
- Klausing, R. L., and Lohman, K, E., 1964, Upper Pliocene marine strata on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 475-D, p. D14-D17.
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