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The Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill, California

Citation

DeLong, James Henry (1939) The Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill, California. Master's thesis, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/3HZ7-8067. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03082010-073543309

Abstract

Location: Signal Hill is located in the northern limits of the city of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California, approximately two and a half miles north of the Pacific Ocean waterfront. It reaches an elevation of three hundred and sixty-four feet and is the highest point in a series of low-lying hills that extend from Seal Beach in Orange County, to Dominguez Hills, approximately ten miles to the northwest. Signal Hill is a portion of the Long Beach oil field.

Review of Literature: Arnold (1, pp 30-32) in his report on the marine Pleistocene at San Pedro, California, gave a brief but fairly detailed account of the Pleistocene stratigraphy and paleontology at Signal Hill. He listed a fauna of one hundred and sixty species from the “Upper San Pedro” formation (Palos Verdes sands), but he found no fossils in the underlying sands and gravels. However, Arnold considered this latter group to be equivalent to his “Lower San Pedro” formation (San Pedro sands). So far as I know this is the only published report that has a detailed account of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill.

Eaton (5, p 124) considered the Palos Verdes sands on Signal Hill as being equivalent in part to the warm-water Hall Canyon formation of Lower Pleistocene age rather Upper Pleistocene.

Grant and Gale (7, p 43) suggested that the “Upper San Pedro” on Signal Hill might possibly belong to the basal warm-water Las Posas zone instead of the Palos Verdes sands because the beds are deformed and there are two warm-water horizons in the Pleistocene instead of one.

Professor Tieje (7, p 43) also suspected that the “Upper San Pedro” beds at Signal Hill belonged to the Las Posas zone.

Purpose of Report: I spend the summer of 1938 studying the stratigraphy and paleontology of the two Pleistocene formations exposed at Signal Hill. Special emphasis in this study was placed on the lower series of sands and gravels from which a large representative fauna was collected. Previous to this no fossils had been reported from this lower group of sediments. It seems desirable, therefore, to record the results of this investigation.

Item Type:Thesis (Master's thesis)
Subject Keywords:Signal Hill, Long Beach oil field, Upper San Pedro Formation, Lower San Pedro Formation, Hall Canyon Formation, Las Posas zone, Palos Verdes sands, stratigraphy, paleontology, Pleistocene Formation
Degree Grantor:California Institute of Technology
Division:Geological and Planetary Sciences
Major Option:Paleontology
Minor Option:Geology
Thesis Availability:Public (worldwide access)
Research Advisor(s):
  • Popenoe, Willis Parkison
Thesis Committee:
  • Unknown, Unknown
Defense Date:1 January 1939
Additional Information:Supplemental Files Information: Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill: Supplement 1 from "The paleontology and stratigraphy of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill, California" (Thesis). Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill: Supplement 2 from "The paleontology and stratigraphy of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill, California" (Thesis). Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill: Supplement 3 from "The paleontology and stratigraphy of the Pleistocene at Signal Hill, California" (Thesis).
Record Number:CaltechTHESIS:03082010-073543309
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:03082010-073543309
DOI:10.7907/3HZ7-8067
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
https://doi.org/10.22002/D1.578DOISupplement 1 in CaltechDATA: Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill
https://doi.org/10.22002/D1.579DOISupplement 2 in CaltechDATA: Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill
https://doi.org/10.22002/D1.580DOISupplement 3 in CaltechDATA: Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill
https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210730-143716560Related ItemJournal Article
Default Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:5582
Collection:CaltechTHESIS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:12 Apr 2010 19:21
Last Modified:30 Jul 2021 14:45

Thesis Files

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PDF (Thesis) - Final Version
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PDF (Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill (pt. 1)) - Supplemental Material
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PDF (Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill (pt. 2)) - Supplemental Material
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PDF (Check list of fossils from the Pleistocene at Signal Hill (pt. 3)) - Supplemental Material
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