112 



GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



About 10 miles east-nortlieast of Lompoc Junction is the Lompoc 

 or Purisima oil field, the wells of which are from 2,000 to 4,000 feet in 

 depth and produce from 25 to 400 or 500 barrels each diilly.^ 



Near milepost 29S, just south of Tangair, there is a cut affording 



fine exposures of the siliceous Monterey shale. Here 

 the raikoad attains the summit of Burton Mesa, 



Tangair 



Elevation 210 feet. w^hosc surfaco has bceu cut by wave action across the 



Los Angeles 178 miles. ,.,.iiiri it r^^^ 



tilted Monterey beds, ihere is an 



over it on the right. 



extended view 



^ The Santa Maria oil district lios in 

 nortlxerii Santa Barbara County, in the 

 region of rolling hills between the Santa 

 Ynez and San Rafael mountains. The 

 district comprises three principal fields — 

 the Santa Maria or Orcutt field, the Lom- 

 poc field, and the Cat Canyon field. Up 

 to the present time the greater part of the 

 development has taken place in the 

 Orcutt field, as this was the first one dis- 

 covered and exploited. The first success- 

 ful well was finished in August, 1901. 

 The wells in this field yield from 60 to 

 2,500 barrels of oil a day each, although 

 initial yields of 2,000 to 12,000 barrels 

 have been recorded. The gravity of the 

 oil is from 18° to 31° Baum^. The wells 



field vield oil of 16° to 37° 



of the Lompoc field yield oil of 16^ 

 Baum^, Successful wells were drilled in 

 this field in 1904, and since that time the 

 further development of this part of the 

 district has been assured. In the Cat 

 Canyon field the wells so far brought in 

 have j-ielded from 150 to as high as 10,000 



a day. The oil in this field runs 



barrels 



from 11° to 19° Baum^. 



The Pacific Coast Railway connects the 

 different fields with Santa Maria, Port 

 Harford, and San Luis Obispo, the la^t 

 named on the Southern Pacific Coast 



The Fernando formation, a series of 

 sandstone, conglomerate, and shale, rests 

 unconformably u])on the Monterey and 

 derives its cliief importance in connection 

 with studies of this oil district from the 

 facts that it obscures the oil-bearing for- 

 mation over a wide area, that it affords 

 through its structure a clue to the struc- 

 ture of the underlying Monterey, and that 

 it acts as a reservoir for the oil in the Cat 

 Canyon field and as a receptacle for escap- 

 ing bituminous material in several locali- 

 ties within the district. 



This district is a region of long sinuous 

 folds, a peculiar type of structure charac- 

 teristic of the Santa Maria region. It is 

 near the axis of these folds that the pro- 

 ductive wells are located. 



In 1913 there were 289 producing wells 

 and the output was 4,938,185 barrels. The 

 annual output of the district varied from 

 99,288 barrels in 1902 to 8,651,172 barrels 

 in 1907. The total output of the Santa 

 Maria district from 1902 to 1913, inclusive, 

 was 56,599,642 barrels. 



This district yields four distinct grades 

 of petroleum in addition to the heavy oil 

 which flows from springs or collects as 

 asphalt deposits. These petroleums vary 

 'widely in physical and chemical proper- 



Line. The greater quantity of the oil j ties and as a consequence are utilized in 



many different ways, the lighter oils 



:ed ^ ^ _ 



Gaviota and Avila, on the coast; the Asso- 

 ciated Oil Co. owns the former and the 

 Union Oil Co. the latter plant. The 

 Standard Oil Co., which controls a small 



line 



,U1B 



The ehal^ of the Monterey group are 

 the probable source of the oil in the dis- 

 trict and the present reserv^oir in some of 

 the fields and are characterized by their 

 diatomaceous composition. 



usually for refining and the heavier for 

 fuels, road dressing, etc. The oil as it 

 comes from the wells contains varying 

 quantities of gas, often amounting to a 

 considerable percentage. Some of thia 

 gas is very rich in gasoline hydrocarbons, 

 which are removed l:>efore utilizing for 

 fuel. The greater portion of the oil is 

 refined at Port Harford and Gaviota, from 

 which it is distributed by means of tank 

 steamers. 



