Pine Mountain Fault EarthCache
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The Pine Mountain fault crosses the Highway 33 about 200 feet beyond highway marker 43.12. There is a pull-out on the northbound side of the road. Coordinates for the pull-out are: N 34° 39.257 W 119° 22.822.
A fault is a fracture along which the blocks of crust on either side have moved relative to one another parallel to the fracture. If you walk approximately fifty feet along the 33 uphill, to the GPS coordinates for the Earthcache, there are two steep rock exposures close to each other on the same side of the road as the pull-out. The first one closest to the pull-out shows shale beds in an almost vertical expression, and the second shows sandstone and shale beds dipping mostly southward. This is the Pine Mountain fault, with Cozy Dell shale on the south and Matilija Sandstone on the north. The fault is traceable for about 35 miles from Bear Creek Canyon to Piru Canyon, mostly along the south face of Pine Mountain Ridge. There is vertical displacement several thousand feet on the north side of the fault.
To log this cache, please answer these questions:
1. Compare and contrast the colors and textures of the Cozy Dell Shale with the Matilija Sandstone.
2. Describe the vegetation growing on the beds.
Information taken from "A Traveler's Guide to California's Scenic Highway 33.. from Ojai to Cuyama" Written by E.R. "Jim" Blakley.
Additional information from Southern California Earthquake Data Center: this is a reverse fault, 35 km long, and is a north dipping fault.
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