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The Etchegoin Formation is a
Pliocene epoch The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in the lower half of the
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
in central
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
.USGS.gov: "Neogene Gas Total Petroleum System—Neogene Nonassociated Gas Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province"
Chapter 22 of the ''Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California''; by Allegra Hosford Scheirer and Leslie B. Magoon.
USGS.gov: "The Kern River Formation, Southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California"
Geological Survey Bulletin 1529-D; By J. Alan Bartow and Gardner M. Pittman; United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.; 1983 (with map on pg. D4).


Geology

The shallow-water marine
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
formation is found across the central and southern San Joaquin Valley, and with the overlying Pliocene nonmarine sand
San Joaquin Formation The San Joaquin Formation is a Pliocene epoch geologic formation in the lower half of the San Joaquin Valley in central California.oil fields there. The
White Wolf Fault The White Wolf Fault is a fault in southern California, located along the northwestern transition of the Tejon Hills and Tehachapi Mountains with the San Joaquin Valley. It is north of the intersection of the San Andreas Fault and the Garlock ...
forms its southern boundary. It overlies the
Antelope Shale The Antelope Shale is a geologic formation in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. It underlies the Pliocene epoch Etchegoin Formation. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period. See also * List of fossiliferous stra ...
unit of the
Monterey Formation The Monterey Formation is an extensive Miocene oil-rich geological sedimentary formation in California, with outcrops of the formation in parts of the California Coast Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and on some of California's off-shore islands ...
in its central and western sections. In its southeastern section it is part of the Kern River Series, which is divided into an upper unit named the Kern River Beds Formation, a lower unit named the Chanac Formation, with the wedge of the Etchegoin Formation in the middle.


Fossils

It preserves numerous
fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
dating back to the
Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
of the
Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...
, including
mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
s.


See also

* * *
List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of California, U.S. Sites See also * Paleontology in California References * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California California S ...
*
Paleontology in California Paleontology in California refers to paleontologist research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of California. California contains rocks of almost every age from the Precambrian to the Recent. Precambrian fossils are pres ...


References

*Bartow, J.A., 1991, The Cenozoic evolution of the San Joaquin Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1501, 40 p. *Goudkoff, P.P., 1943, Correlation of oil field formations on west side of San Joaquin Valley, in Jenkins, O.P., ed., Geologic formations and economic development of the oil and gas fields of California: San Francisco, Calif., State of California, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines Bulletin No. 118, p. 247-252. Neogene California Geology of Fresno County, California Geology of Kern County, California Geography of Kings County, California Geography of the San Joaquin Valley Pliocene geology Oil fields in Kern County, California Geologic formations of California {{Neogene-stub