This document summarizes geology concepts observed around Coalinga, California. It describes a fault as a fracture in rock with significant displacement from earth movement. It then focuses on the nearby San Andreas Fault, an 810-mile strike-slip fault running through California. The document also describes different types of weathering seen on bridges in Coalinga, including chemical weathering lines, biological weathering from moss growth, and evidence of slumping as a type of mass wasting. Finally, it discusses the alluvial continental environment and use of local oil pumps, noting Coalinga's past coverage by water and current economic reliance on oil.

1. GEOLOGY 1
Traci Renwick
Part II

2. - A fault is a planar fracture in a volume of rock,
across which there has been significant
displacement along the fractures as a result of
earth movement.
- Although I did not get the chance to visit the fault,
I am still going to report about the closest fault to
Coalinga; which would be the San Andreas fault.
The San Andreas Fault is a strike-slip fault that runs
about 810 miles through California. It was
discovered and named by a geology professor at
UC Berkeley in 1895. The rate of slippage averages
approximately 33 to 37 millimeters (1.3 to 1.5 in)
annually across the fault. Projected motion
indicates that the landmass west of the San
Andreas Fault, including Los Angeles, will eventually
slide past San Francisco, then continue
northwestward toward the Aleutian Trench, over a
period of perhaps twenty million years.

3. BUILDING WEATHERING
This is a bridge in Coalinga, located on Cody street. This is where I collected my
rocks from.
Buildings (bridges) made of any stone, brick or concrete are susceptible to the
same weathering agents as any exposed rock surface. Some stonework can be
badly damaged by natural weathering processes.
You an see the chemical weathering line right above the rocks on the bottom
half of the wall, this shows the erosion that occurred when the rock and water
pressure was greater.

4. Although there was not a
picture of mechanical
weathering that I was
able to get, there was
evidence of biological
weathering. The bridge
had areas of rocks that
had moss covering them.
The moss usually grows on
essentially bare rock
surfaces. This made the
open space a great
candidate for moss.

5. This mass wasting could be
identified as SLUMP.
This type of mass wasting
takes years of gradual
movement to be able to
have an effect on a slump.
A reason for this slump
could be the climate, or it
could also work off of the
vibrations coming from the
drilling of oil.
This picture was taken at the
bridge on Cody street in
Coalinga.

6.  CONTINENTAL: Alluvium.
 Alluvium is typically made up of a
variety of materials, including fine
particles of silt and clay and larger
particles of sand and gravel.
 When you are walking around the
bridge, you can see the large
particles of sand.
 It is said that Coalinga was once
covered by water, which would
leave the sediments to make up a
continental environment.
 Most alluvium is quite young, and
is often referred to as “cover”
because they cover the bedrock.

7. Photo Credit:
http://rateitcoalinga.com
A practical use of geology in
Coalinga is the oil pumps.
Much of Coalinga’s prosperity is
based on top of it’s oil pumps
and coal mining. Drillers have
found up to four oil pools in the
Coalinga field. The oil field has
about 58,000,000 barrels left,
which is less then 6% of the
original capacity of 912 million
barrels. Although the field is
close to exhaustion, it is still
being used for wealth in
Coalinga.

8. 1.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalinga_Oil_Field
2.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering#Salt-
crystal_growth
3.)
http://rateitcoalinga.com/local/attractions/Coaling
a_Iron_Zoo.html
4.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alluvial