The Soda Lake Shale Member of the Vaqueros Formation in the Cuyama Valley-Caliente Range area of the southern Coast Ranges of California consists almost entirely of basinal facies, although in the southeastern Caliente Range, the unit contains prominent sandstone bodies that are interpreted as small delta deposits. The Soda Lake in the southeastern Caliente Range consists of four lithofacies: (1) siltstone and mudstone, interpreted as the deposits of a muddy marine shelf or shallow basin, (2) platy shale, interpreted as deep marine basin deposits, (3) thickbedded sandstone, interpreted as gravity flow deposits, and (4) large-scale foreset-bedded sandstone, interpreted as the deposits of small deltas. The abundance of graded beds in the foreset-bedded sandstone bodies suggests that gravity-flow processes were the predominant mode of sediment transport. These deltaic deposits are interpreted as Gilbert-type deltas, not greatly different from the classical Gilbert delta model. The progradational sequence in the southeastern Caliente Range suggests an initial ramp geometry for the basin margin there, in contrast to what appears to have been a steep basin margin in the northwestern part of the basin. The basin margin evolved from a ramp geometry b y a combination of differential compaction of fine-grained basinal deposits versus coarser-grained near-shore deposits and the progradation of small deltas, leading to the formation of a marine shelf and slope.