New Occurrence of Lower Eocene (Capay Stage") Strata, Lower Piru Creek, Topatopa Mountains, Southern California: ABSTRACT"

Abstract

A 900-m thick siltstone unit between Canton Canyon and Piru Creek, 16 km north of the town of Piru, California, previously was unnamed and considered as undifferentiated Eocene or middle Eocene in age. The Siltstone unconformably overlies the Whitaker Peak granodiorite basement complex. At the base of the siltstone is a veneer of gruss (weathered granodiorite). The gruss is usually overlain by about a few meters of shoreface carbonaceous sandstone that grades vertically upward into transition-zone siltstone (500 m) with storm-deposit accumulations of macrofossils. Collections made at 53 localities from these lower 500 m of strata yielded numerous shallow marine gastropods and bivalves, as well as specimens of discocyclinid foraminifers, colonial corals, calcareous worm tubes, and spataganoid echinoids. This fauna is indicative of the West Coast provincial molluscan Capay Stage (lower Eocene). Common age-diagnostic species are Turritella uvasana infera, T. Andersoni, and Ostrea haleyi. Overlying and gradational with the transition-zone siltstone is 400 m of muddy siltstone with rare storm-deposit accumulations of macrofossils. This muddy siltstone thickens westward and passes into deep-sea slope and inner-fan turbidite deposits. Collections made at three localities in the muddy siltstone yielded many shallow marine gastropods and bivalves indicative of the Domengine stage (upper lowermore » through lower middle Eocene). Common age-diagnostic species are Turritella uvasana applinae and Pitar (Lamelliconcha) joaquinensis.« less