54 
OIL DISTRICTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 
OIL WELLS. 
The wells in the Sespe district may he grouped as follows: Those 
of the Union Consolidated Oil Company in Sespe Canyon, at the base 
of Sulphur Peak; those in the vicinity of Devilsgate, a narrow gorge 
of the Sespe 2 or 3 miles below the Union wells; the Ivers wells, still 
lower in the canyon; the Ken tuck wells, also in Sespe Canyon just 
above the mouth of Little Sespe Creek; the Happy Thought wells, on 
the south bank of Little Sespe Creek near its mouth; the Foot-of-the- 
Hill wells, on Little Sespe Creek a mile above its confluence with the 
main stream: the Fourfork wells, on an upper branch of Little Sespe 
Creek 2 or 3 miles above the Foot-of-the-Hill wells, and the wells on 
Tar Creek. 
UNION CONSOLIDATED WELLS. 
The territory being developed by the Union Consolidated Oil Com¬ 
pany lies on the north flank of the main Topatopa anticline. At the 
time of the writer’s visit the company had but a single productive 
well, located at the sharp bend of Sespe Creek opposite a minor 
tributary descending from Sulphur Peak and entering the main stream 
a mile above the mouth of Tar Creek. The purpose of this well was to 
tap the white sandstone at the base of the Sespe formation, a sand¬ 
stone that here gives forth a considerable seepage of oil. The gravit}^ 
of the oil of this well is about 11° B. A second well was about to be 
drilled by the same company half a mile farther up the canyon, start¬ 
ing in the upper part of the Topatopa formation. It is probable that 
the intention was to obtain a yield from some of the petroliferous 
sandstones in the upper part of the Topatopa, seepages from which 
occur in the river bed a few hundred yards above the location of the 
well. 
REGION OF DEVILSGATE. 
The oil wells in the vicinity of Devilsgate are located a short dis¬ 
tance above the narrows of the Sespe gorge, close to the axis of the 
Coldwater anticline. The major part of this anticline lies west of 
Sespe Creek, the strata in the arch of the fold having been sufficiently 
crushed to determine the position of Coldwater Canyon. The general 
trend of the axis is N. 70° E., with an easterly pitch in the vicinity of 
Sespe Creek. About the end of this anticline the wells of the Bussell 
Company have been drilled. The western limit of the anticline is 
not known, but it extends well toward the summit of the divide 
between the Sespe and Santa Paula drainage systems, and may per¬ 
haps continue into the upper canyons of the east fork of the Santa 
Paula. The territory that has been proved to be productive along 
this fold is at present confined to its most accessible point, Sespe 
Canyon. The possibilities for the remaining length of the anticline 
are yet to be determined. 
