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Pico Canyon, Dewitt Canyon, Towsley Canyon, Wiley Canyon, and Rice Canyon. The
producing areas are generally located near the axis of the anticline and are typically
structurally controlled by faulting.

The eastern portion of Newhall Oil Field is geologically characterized by homoclinal
structures of sedimentary rocks which onlap to the east over crystalline basement rocks. The
four oil producing areas in the eastern portion of the Newhall Oil Field include: Townsite,
Whitney Canyon, Elsmere, and Tunnel (Winterer and Durham, 1962; CDOG, 1991). These

producing areas are all associated with faults, such as the Legion fault, Elsmere field faults
A and B, Beacon fault, and Whitney Canyon fault (See Sections 5.3.2 to 5.3.4). The
Elsmere and Tunnel areas are located on the project property (see Plate 8).

6.1.2 Regional Historic Qil mdjjction

By the 1800s, local Native Americans were using oil and tar collected from natural seeps
near the present town of Newhall. Missions began distilling oil from the Pico Canyon area
for illuminating purposes in the 1850s. In 1869-70, a spring-pole hole was drilled to a depth
of 140 feet near oils seeps on the axis of the Pico anticline in Pico Canyon. The well was
reported to have produced from 70 to 75 barrels of oil per day during drilling, but the hole

was abandoned after the tools were lost down-hole (Winterer and Durham, 1962).

In 1875, a second spring-pole hole was drilled on the axis of the Pico anticline, with an
initial daily production of 2 barrels of 32 ° gravity oil from a depth of 30 feet bgs. This well
is considered to mark the beginning of the California oil industry (Winterer and Durham,
1962). California Star Oil Works Company was created to develop the oil resources in the

Pico Canyon area, and built the first oil refinery in California near Newhall in 1876. In
1877, well Pico 4 (Standard Oil Co. of California C.SI.O.W. 4) was deepened to 610 feet

using steam-driven equipment, marking the end of the spring-pole method of drilling in the
area (Winterer and Durham, 1962).

Pacific Coast Oil Company was incorporated in 1879 and began acquiring the holdings of
California Star Oil Works Company. A new refinery with greater capacity was built near
Newhall, and a two-inch gravity pipeline, the first in California, was constructed from
Pico Canyon to the refinery. The Pacific Coast Newhall refinery was closed in 1883, and
oil was shipped by rail to their refinery at Alameda. In 1884-85, a combination two- and

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