Corcoran Clay--A Pleistocene Lacustrine Deposit in San Joaquin Valley, California
1954; American Association of Petroleum Geologists; Volume: 38; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1306/5ceae0a0-16bb-11d7-8645000102c1865d
ISSN1558-9153
AutoresJohn Westlake Frink, Harry A. Kues,
Tópico(s)Archaeology and Natural History
ResumoThe Corcoran clay represents a unique departure from the continental alluvial fan deposition of the Quaternary of the San Joaquin Valley. It is massive, silty clay, highly diatomaceous, 50-120 feet thick, generally 200-800 feet beneath the surface, extending over an area greater than 4,000 square miles. The Corcoran clay is involved in a southward plunging, open syncline of which the west flank is the steeper. Present evidence limits the age between extreme upper Pliocene and mid-Pleistocene. The lake in which it was deposited was probably formed by diastrophism in the Coast Range, by drowning of the San Joaquin Valley during a sea-level rise, or by construction of a fan by the Sacramento River and others east of Carqinez Strait, thereby damming the outlet of more southerly streams.
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