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Pacific Coast Region

Photograph of pump unit atop an oil well in Los Gatos, Calif. The pump unit and well are in a fenced enclosure in the parking lot of a commercial office building on Los Gatos Boulevard near Garden Lane

California oil fields have contributed a very large proportion of additions to domestic reserves in recent years. Almost half of additions to U.S. proved oil reserves in 1997 came from old fields in California (See Bulletin 2172-h).  Gravity anomalies, historical records of exploratory oil wells and oil seeps, new organic-geochemical results, and new stratigraphic and structural data indicate the presence of a concealed, oil-bearing sedimentary basin beneath a highly urbanized part of the Santa Clara Valley, Calif.  The Santa Clara Valley is a densely populated, highly industrialized area within the southern San Francisco Bay region of California. This area, which is home to more than 1.5 million people, is known throughout the world as Silicon Valley (See PP 1663)

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Charpentier, R.R., and Klett, T.R., 2007, A Monte Carlo Simulation Method for the Assessment of Undiscovered, Conventional Oil and Gas, Chapter 26, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 5 p., 2 xls workbooks.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/26/

Gautier, D.L., and Scheirer, A.H., 2007, Miocene Total Petroleum System - Southeast Stable Shelf Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province, Chapter 13, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 19 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/13/

Gautier, D.L., and Scheirer, A.H., 2007, Miocene Total Petroleum System - Lower Bakersfield Arch Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province, Chapter 14, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 17 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/14/

Gautier, D.L., and Scheirer, A.H., 2007, Eocene Composite Total Petroleum System - North and East of Eocene West Side Fold Belt Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province, Chapter 19, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 19 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/19/

Gautier, D.L., Scheirer, A.H., Tennyson, M.E., Peters, K.E., Magoon, L.B., Lillis, P.G., Charpentier, R.R., Cook, T.A., French, C.D., Klett, T.R., Pollastro, R.M., and Schenk, C.J. (USGS San Joaquin Basin Province Assessment Team), 2007, Executive Summary - Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the San Joaquin Basin Province of California, 2003, Chapter 1, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 2 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/01/

Johnson, C.L., and Graham, S.A., 2007, Middle Tertiary Stratigraphic Sequences of the San Joaquin Basin, California, Chapter 6, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 18 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/06/

Klett, T.R., 2007, Conversion Factors, Chapter 31, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 2 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/31/

Klett, T.R., 2007, Abbreviations and Acronyms, Chapter 30, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 2 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/30/

Klett, T.R., and Le, P.A., 2007, Tabular Data and Graphical Images in Support of the U.S. Geological Survey National Oil and Gas Assessment - San Joaquin Basin (5010), Chapter 28, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 13 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/28/

Klett, T.R., and Schmoker, J.W., 2007, Data Sources and Compilation , Chapter 27, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 6 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/27/

Klett, T.R., Schmoker, J.W., and Charpentier, R.R., 2007, U.S. Geological Survey Input-Data Form and Operational Procedure for the Assessment of Conventional Petroleum Accumulations, Chapter 25, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 7 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/25/

Klett, T.R., Schmoker, J.W., Charpentier, R.R., Ahlbrandt, T.S., and Ulmishek, G.F., 2007, Glossary, Chapter 29, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 3 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/29/

Lillis, P.G., and Magoon, L.B., 2007, Petroleum Systems of the San Joaquin Basin Province - Geochemical Characteristics of Oil Types, Chapter 9, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 52 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/09/

Lillis, P.G., Warden, A., Claypool, G.E., and Magoon, L.B., 2007, Petroleum Systems of the San Joaquin Basin Province - Geochemical Characteristics of Gas Types, Chapter 10, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 30 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/10/

McDougall, K., 2007, California Cenozoic Biostratigraphy - Paleogene, Chapter 4, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 56 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/04/

Peters, K.E., Magoon, L.B., Lampe, C., Scheirer, A.H., Lillis, P.G., and Gautier, D.L., 2007, A Four-Dimensional Petroleum Systems Model for the San Joaquin Basin Province, California, Chapter 12, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 35 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/12/

Peters, K.E., Magoon, L.B., Valin, Z.C., and Lillis, P.G., 2007, Source-Rock Geochemistry of the San Joaquin Basin Province, California, Chapter 11, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 102 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/11/

Scheirer, A.H., and Magoon, L.B., 2007, Age, Distribution, and Stratigraphic Relationship of Rock Units in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California, Chapter 5, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 107 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/05/

Scheirer, A.H., and Magoon, L.B., 2007, Winters-Domengine Total Petroleum System - Northern Nonassociated Gas Assessment Unit of the San Joaquin Basin Province, Chapter 21, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 27 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/21/

Scheirer, A.H., ed., 2007, Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/

Scheirer, A.H., Tennyson, M.E., Magoon, L.B., Charpentier, R.R., Cook, T.A., Klett, T.R., Pollastro, R.M., and Schenk, C.J., 2007, Assessment of Undiscovered Natural Gas Resources of the Sacramento Basin Province of California, 2006: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-2007-3014, 2 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3014/

Schmoker, J.W., and Klett, T.R., 2007, U.S. Geological Survey Assessment Concepts for Conventional Petroleum Accumulations, Chapter 24, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California, compiled by USGS San Joaquin Assessment Team: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 7 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/24/

Takahashi, K.I., and Gautier, D.L., 2007, A Brief History of Oil and Gas Exploration in Southern San Joaquin Valley of California, Chapter 3, in Scheirer, A. H., ed., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 24 p.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1713/03/

23 Reference(s) Found in This Search.

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The Pacific Coast Region is a physiographic province bordering the Pacific Ocean and contains portions of Washington, Oregon, the Columbia River Plateau, and the majority of California. The region encompasses a number of major plate tectonic boundaries and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. The landscape is diverse; characterized by north-south trending Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, wide expanses of lava plateaus, broad fertile valleys, and rugged coastlines. Climate and vegetation are equally variable with large amounts of rain and forests in the north and more arid and less vegetated terraine in the south and inland. This region has a high population density, particularly in the coastal areas, and the economy is among the leading economies in the world. Major structural features of this region include the Cascade Uplift, the Klamath-Sierra highlands, Willamette Valley, and large amounts of oil, gas, mineral and natural resources exist in the Los Angeles, San Joaquin, and Sacramento basins. This web site provides access to the Energy Resource Program research activities and products within the Pacific Coast Region.

Map of part of California showing Los Angeles Basin, coastal basins, San Joaquin Basin, and outlines of giant fields.

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