Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Provenance at Bolsa Point, Pigeon Point Formation, California, USA

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: The Cretaceous Pigeon Point Formation (PPF) outcrops for about 16 km along the San Mateo County coast in central California, southwest of the San Andreas Fault. The PPF has been interpreted to have been deposited by a combination of high- and low-density turbidity currents, debris flows, and slumps and slides and is thought to represent a submarine canyon and fan complex. This study focuses on a section of the PPF exposed north and south of Bolsa Point that has been interpreted to represent a shallow-marine depositional setting and the youngest strata in the PPF. The objective of this study has been to determine the depositional processes, age and environment of deposition of the outcrops at Bolsa Point. The outcrops of the PPF exposed at Bolsa Point are mostly fine-grained sandstone beds which are dominated by current structures, burrowed intervals and hummocky cross-stratification. Fossils found at Bolsa Point in addition to the observations mentioned above indicate that this section of the PPF was indeed deposited in a shallow, perhaps storm-dominated submarine setting. Additionally, we evaluated petrography and geochemistry to determine the composition and provenance of Bolsa Point member. Turbidite sequences often act as reservoir rocks for hydrocarbons. Although no hydrocarbon is present in this area, gaining a better understanding of the PPF will contribute to worldwide petroleum exploration.

Type of resource	text
Date created	November 2019

Author	Barry, Erin
Primary advisor	Lowe, Donald

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/zb330qw6940

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Barry E. T. (2019). Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Provenance at Bolsa Point, Pigeon Point Formation, California, USA. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/zb330qw6940

Undergraduate Honors Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability

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