﻿OIL 
  OF 
  THE 
  SANTA 
  MARIA 
  DISTRICT. 
  Ill 
  

  

  cause 
  the 
  relatively 
  high 
  percentage 
  of 
  nitrogen 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Califor- 
  

   nia 
  oils. 
  

  

  Fish 
  skeletons 
  are 
  sometimes 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  shale, 
  and 
  flat 
  impres- 
  

   sions, 
  large 
  and 
  small, 
  that 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  scales 
  of 
  fish 
  are 
  abun- 
  

   dant 
  and 
  very 
  characteristic 
  of 
  certain 
  portions 
  of 
  this 
  formation, 
  

   seeming 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  fish 
  remains 
  were 
  in 
  sufficient 
  abundance 
  to 
  

   add 
  at 
  least 
  something 
  to 
  the 
  oil 
  and 
  to 
  supply 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  nitro- 
  

   gen. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  these 
  fossilized 
  parts 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  origi- 
  

   nally 
  separated 
  from 
  the 
  tissue 
  before 
  they 
  dropped 
  to 
  the 
  ocean 
  

   bottom 
  or 
  before 
  being 
  buried 
  in 
  the 
  deposit, 
  as 
  by 
  far 
  the 
  greater 
  

   number 
  of 
  fish 
  are 
  believed 
  to 
  die 
  violent 
  deaths 
  and 
  to 
  serve 
  as 
  food 
  

   for 
  larger 
  fish 
  or 
  other 
  animals. 
  

  

  Other 
  animal 
  organisms 
  which 
  were 
  present 
  and 
  which 
  may 
  have 
  

   contributed 
  hydrocarbons 
  and 
  nitrogen 
  were 
  sponges, 
  mollusks, 
  and 
  

   crustaceans 
  — 
  such 
  as 
  crabs 
  and 
  possibly 
  ostracods. 
  The 
  impres- 
  

   sions 
  of 
  seaweed 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  shale 
  but 
  sparingly, 
  probably 
  because 
  

   plants 
  of 
  this 
  kind 
  are 
  restricted 
  in 
  habitat 
  to 
  shallower 
  water 
  than 
  

   that 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Monterey 
  was 
  laid 
  

   down, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  probable 
  that 
  these 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  large 
  

   contributors 
  to 
  the 
  material 
  of 
  the 
  oil. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  sufficiency 
  of 
  organic 
  material 
  in- 
  

   cluded 
  with 
  the 
  Monterey 
  deposits 
  to 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  a 
  vast 
  quantity 
  of 
  

   petroleum, 
  as 
  is 
  proved 
  by 
  a 
  rough 
  estimate 
  based 
  on 
  low 
  calcula- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  such 
  material 
  present. 
  If 
  the 
  area 
  covered 
  

   by 
  the 
  Monterey 
  formation 
  in 
  the 
  Santa 
  Maria 
  district, 
  including 
  

   territory 
  surely 
  covered 
  by 
  it 
  whether 
  the 
  formation 
  now 
  outcrops 
  

   there 
  or 
  not, 
  be 
  taken 
  as 
  800 
  square 
  miles 
  and 
  the 
  thickness 
  of 
  the 
  

   formation 
  as 
  half 
  a 
  mile, 
  the 
  total 
  volume 
  of 
  the 
  deposit 
  would 
  be 
  

   400 
  cubic 
  miles. 
  These 
  figures 
  are 
  low, 
  especially 
  in 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  the 
  average 
  thickness 
  and 
  the 
  areal 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  formation 
  were 
  

   much 
  greater 
  when 
  the 
  oil 
  began 
  to 
  be 
  accumulated 
  than 
  at 
  present. 
  

   If 
  we 
  regard 
  for 
  the 
  moment 
  the 
  diatoms 
  alone 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  

   the 
  oil, 
  and 
  only 
  1 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  formation 
  to 
  be 
  made 
  up 
  of 
  these 
  

   organisms, 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  4 
  cubic 
  miles 
  of 
  diatoms; 
  and 
  if 
  we 
  sup- 
  

   pose 
  further, 
  simply 
  as 
  a 
  rough 
  guess, 
  that 
  these 
  forms 
  gave 
  rise 
  to 
  

   . 
  an 
  amount 
  of 
  petroleum 
  equaling 
  1 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  their 
  volume, 
  we 
  

   would 
  have 
  1,000,000,000 
  barrels 
  of 
  oil 
  as 
  the 
  amount 
  distilled 
  

   within 
  the 
  Monterey 
  in 
  this 
  district, 
  or 
  more 
  than 
  thirty-three 
  times 
  

   the 
  total 
  production 
  of 
  oil 
  in 
  California 
  for 
  1904, 
  or 
  eight 
  times 
  the 
  

   production 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  for 
  the 
  same 
  year. 
  According 
  to 
  

   Albert 
  Mann, 
  who 
  has 
  recently 
  made 
  an 
  extensive 
  study 
  of 
  diatoms, 
  

   these 
  plants 
  when 
  living 
  secrete 
  algal 
  wax 
  or 
  oil 
  in 
  amounts 
  varying 
  

   from 
  0.75 
  per 
  cent 
  to 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  4 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  their 
  total 
  volume. 
  

   The 
  amount 
  of 
  petroleum 
  that 
  might 
  be 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  diatoms 
  

   is 
  entirely 
  unknown; 
  but 
  if 
  the 
  figure 
  assumed 
  hypothetically 
  as 
  

  

  