Preface 



During the last 120 years more than 2500 scientific articles have 

 been published on various aspects of the sea floor, the water, and 

 the marine hfe off' Cahfornia (Terry, 1955). Beginning about 1920 

 the average annual number of articles has risen from 10 to 150, 

 owing to increased awareness of the ocean and its resources. Alto- 

 gether these publications have brought the state of knowledge of the 

 submerged area off" southern California to a very high level as com- 

 pared to that of any other area of the ocean having a similar size and 

 complexity. The present knowledge has arisen through the efforts 

 of many workers and, although certain fields of investigation have 

 largely been confined to marine research organizations such as the 

 Allan Hancock Foundation at the University of Southern California 

 and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at La Jolla, other organi- 

 zations have contributed. In view of the large number of articles 

 having limited objectives, the abundance of unpublished material, 

 and the rapidly increasing interest in marine studies and in recovery 

 of offshore petroleum, it seems desirable to bring much of this 

 material together in a single volume. Such a summary of infor- 

 mation may prove helpful to other investigators working in this 

 region. Knowledge of the interrelationships of geography and 

 processes off southern California may also serve as a guide to what 

 may be expected in other less well-known regions of the sea floor. 



Some idea of the complexity of the marine environment is 

 given when we realize that topography, for example, is interrelated 

 with structure, lithology, sediments, life, and water movements. 

 Structure has exerted a major control on topograpy through block 

 faulting and regional warping, but the shelves along the mainland 

 and islands were cut by waves. Erosion by boring organisms has 

 aided the waves, particularly in shallow water. Locally, resistant 

 rocks have remained as headlands, stacks, and small submerged 

 hills. Thick layers of sediments have smoothed the floors of basins 

 and prograded shores. The sediments themselves consist of rock 

 debris, organic materials, and precipitates from water, and all are 



