Geology of a Northern Portion of the Sunland Quadrangle, Los Angeles County

Abstract

The region between Little Tujunga Canyon and Akens Canyon is a region of Tertiary sedimentary and intrusive volcanic rocks. The sedimentary section is dominant and is represented by about 1500 feet of Modelo (Upper Miocene), 1600 feet of marine Pico (Lower Pliocene) resting upon the Modelo with slight unconformity, 2200 feet of continental Saugus (Upper Pliocene), and 100 to 200 feet of terrace gravels (Pleistocene). Structurally the region consists of a large block tilted northward and bounded on the north by the Sierra Madre Fault and on the south by the hypothetical Tujunga Fault. Faulting is the dominant feature of the structure, the only important fold being the Merrick syncline which roughly parallels the Sierra Madre Fault.