﻿OIL 
  OF 
  THE 
  SANTA 
  MARIA 
  DISTRICT. 
  109 
  

  

  by 
  the 
  oil-yielding 
  Monterey. 
  The 
  surface 
  evidence 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  condi- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  most 
  conclusive. 
  What 
  effect 
  local 
  flexures 
  either 
  in 
  the 
  Mon- 
  

   terey 
  below 
  the 
  Pismo 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  Pismo 
  itself 
  will 
  have 
  on 
  the 
  produc- 
  

   tion, 
  only 
  drilling 
  will 
  determine. 
  According 
  to 
  Fairbanks's 
  interpre- 
  

   tation 
  of 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  area, 
  the 
  depth 
  at 
  which 
  the 
  oil 
  will 
  be 
  

   struck 
  ought 
  to 
  decrease 
  from 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  area 
  toward 
  both 
  

   the 
  northeast 
  and 
  southwest. 
  The 
  only 
  well 
  fully 
  tested 
  in 
  the 
  region 
  

   yields 
  500 
  barrels 
  of 
  14° 
  oil 
  per 
  day, 
  so. 
  that 
  the 
  prospects 
  for 
  the 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  of 
  a 
  good 
  field 
  are 
  unusually 
  bright. 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  Monterey 
  shale 
  underlying 
  the 
  Pismo 
  of 
  the 
  Arroyo 
  Grande 
  

   field 
  is 
  continuous 
  with 
  the 
  Monterey 
  mapped 
  in 
  the 
  Lompoc 
  quad- 
  

   rangle 
  northeast 
  of 
  the 
  Santa 
  Maria 
  Valley, 
  it 
  is 
  reasonable 
  to 
  suppose 
  

   that 
  there 
  are 
  considerable 
  portions 
  of 
  this 
  great 
  belt 
  of 
  Monterey 
  

   that 
  will 
  prove 
  productive. 
  The 
  local 
  structure 
  is 
  usually 
  the 
  deter- 
  

   mining 
  factor 
  in 
  the 
  accumulation 
  of 
  the 
  petroleum, 
  so 
  that 
  a 
  thor- 
  

   ough 
  knowledge 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  essential 
  to 
  economical 
  test 
  drilling. 
  

  

  HUASNA 
  FIELD. 
  

  

  The 
  Huasna 
  field 
  lies 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Arroyo 
  Grande 
  field 
  and 
  north 
  of 
  

   the 
  Lompoc 
  quadrangle. 
  Prospect 
  drilling 
  is 
  now 
  going 
  on 
  in 
  this 
  

   region, 
  but 
  with 
  what 
  results 
  the 
  writers 
  are 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  say. 
  During 
  

   a 
  very 
  hasty 
  trip 
  through 
  this 
  region 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1905 
  the 
  senior 
  

   writer 
  noted 
  great 
  areas 
  of 
  Monterey 
  shale, 
  with 
  some 
  interbedded 
  

   coarse 
  granitic 
  sandstones, 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  of 
  considerable 
  thick- 
  

   ness. 
  Such 
  conditions 
  are 
  ideal 
  for 
  the 
  accumulation 
  of 
  petroleum 
  

   if 
  the 
  beds 
  are 
  not 
  too 
  sharply 
  folded. 
  This 
  Monterey 
  area 
  is 
  prob- 
  

   ably 
  the 
  continuation 
  of 
  that 
  exposed 
  in 
  the 
  northeastern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   Lompoc 
  quadrangle, 
  and 
  may 
  connect 
  the 
  latter 
  with 
  the 
  Monterey 
  

   area 
  east 
  of 
  Arroyo 
  Grande 
  and 
  also 
  with 
  that 
  covering 
  the 
  summit 
  

   of 
  the 
  Santa 
  Lucia 
  Range 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  east 
  of 
  San 
  Luis 
  Obispo. 
  It 
  is 
  

   to 
  be 
  regretted 
  that 
  no 
  maps 
  adequate 
  for 
  showing 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  

   the 
  formations 
  in 
  the 
  region 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  San 
  Luis 
  quadrangle 
  and 
  

   north 
  of 
  the 
  Lompoc 
  quadrangle 
  are 
  available. 
  Without 
  these 
  it 
  

   will 
  be 
  impossible 
  to 
  do 
  for 
  this 
  region 
  such 
  detailed 
  geologic 
  and 
  

   structural 
  mapping 
  as 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  done 
  for 
  the 
  two 
  quadrangles 
  

   mentioned. 
  

  

  OIL 
  OF 
  THE 
  SA1S*TA 
  MARIA 
  DISTRICT. 
  

   ORIGIN. 
  

  

  There 
  isino 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  petroleum 
  in 
  the 
  Santa 
  Maria 
  dis- 
  

   trict 
  is 
  indigenous 
  to 
  the 
  Monterey 
  shale. 
  Bitumen 
  is 
  a 
  character- 
  

   istic 
  part 
  of 
  that 
  formation 
  throughout 
  its 
  wide 
  extent 
  over 
  an 
  area 
  

   covering 
  hundreds 
  of 
  square 
  miles, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  other 
  formation 
  

   1784— 
  Bull. 
  322—07 
  8 
  

  

  