SANTA CLARA VALLEY: HOPPER-PIRU FIELDS, 
71 
NIGGER CANYON WELLS. 
The three wells in Nigger Canyon are owned by L. H. Lyon, of 
Los Angeles. They are located at the head of the southern of the 
two east forks of the canyon and start in strata which are close to 
the line of division between the upper Modelo sandstone and the 
underlying shale—that is, they penetrate a zone which is practically 
the same as that from which the Fortuna wells obtain their oil. 
Their depth is approximately 1,000 feet. Oil springs occur in the 
immediate vicinity and may have determined the selection of this 
territory for drilling. The wells are close to the axis of a prominent 
anticline, which is perhaps one of the leading secondary folds north 
of Santa Clara River. This fold has an apparent length of about 
5 miles, but no wells except these have been drilled upon it. Its 
trend in general is about N. 80° E., but varies somewhat from point 
to point. Toward the east, in the direction of Piru Valley, this fold 
has the appearance of passing into the Modelo anticline or one of its 
minor crumples. To the west it is traceable beyond Hopper Can¬ 
yon, where it becomes more or less obscure in the great body of 
shale which separates the two principal Modelo sandstones and 
where it comes into close proximity with one of the important 
northwest-southeast folds that extend from this point ^westward to 
Sespe Canyon. Of the Nigger Canyon wells, Nos. 1 and 3 are a 
short distance south and No. 2 is immediately north of the axis of 
the anticline, which at this point trends N. 83° W. These wells are 
from a year to three and a half years old. Nos. 1 and 3 yield each 
5 to 8 barrels per day, but No. 2 was flooded with water, which has 
prevented its being in service. It is reported that in No. 3, at a 
depth of 65 feet, a body of asphalt was encountered, which drilled 
with difficulty. It was hard at the top and of the consistency of 
maltha at the bottom, and is supposed to have filled a fissure in the 
shale. The oil was found at intervals from a depth of 10 feet to 
the bottom of the wells. Gas occurs in small amounts, and water to 
the extent of about one-third of the oil has been encountered. 
MODELO CANYON WELLS. 
The structural feature of chief interest in Modelo Canyon is an anti¬ 
cline in which the lower Modelo sandstone is sharply folded as dia- 
grammatically represented in PL III, sec. X-Z' and PI. IV, sec. G-GL 
The general aspect of the locality is shown in PI. VIII, A. A second 
feature of minor importance is the succession of crushed folds, with 
faults, at the head of the south fork of the canyon, one-fourth to 
one-half mile south of the anticline. 
The Modelo anticline has already been referred to, notably in the 
general description of the geology of the region between Hopper and 
