Editing Santa Barbara, California (section)

==Geology and soils==
[[Image:Cliffs at Arroyo Burro Beach Park.jpg|thumb|left|Eastward view of the coastal bluffs of the [[Douglas Family Preserve]] park from [[Arroyo Burro Beach]]]]
The city of Santa Barbara is situated on a coastal plain between the [[Santa Ynez Mountains]] and the sea. This coastal plain consists of a complex array of [[Holocene]] and [[Pleistocene]] [[alluvial]] and [[colluvial]] deposits, [[marine terrace]]s, debris flows, and [[estuarine]] deposits.<ref name="Norris">{{cite book |title=The geology and landscape of Santa Barbara County, California|last= Norris|first= Robert M.|year= 2003|publisher= Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History|location= Santa Barbara, California|isbn= 978-0-936494-35-7|page= 33}}</ref><ref>{{cite map |editor=Dibblee, T.W. |editor2=Ehrenspeck, H.E. |title=Geologic map of the Santa Barbara quadrangle, Santa Barbara County, California|map=Santa Barbara quadrangle, Santa Barbara County, California|year=1986|url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_192.htm|scale=1:24,000|publisher=Dibblee Geological Foundation|location=Santa Barbara County, California|format=image|id=Dibblee Foundation Map DF-06|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref> Soils are mostly well drained brown fine [[sandy loam]] of the Milpitas series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/|title=SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Browser|website=California Soil Resource Lab|language=en|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=May 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514215427/http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rapid geologic uplift is characteristic of the entire region, as evidenced by the coastal bluffs and narrow beaches that are present along most of the coastline.<ref>Norris, p. 33</ref>

[[Image:SantaBarbaraCA ArlingtonPeakFromSkofield 20170911.jpg|thumb|right|Southern view of [[Arlington Peak (California)|Arlington Peak]] (elevation {{convert|3250|ft|m|disp=semicolon}})<ref name="pb">{{cite web|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/search.aspx?tid=M&ss=Arlington%20Peak&lat=&lon=|title=Peakbagger.com Peak/Range Search Page|access-date=April 22, 2020|publisher=Peakbagger.com.|location=Washington, US|date=1987–2020}}</ref> of the [[Santa Ynez Mountains]] from [[Skofield Park]]]]
Downtown Santa Barbara occupies a floodplain between two major geologic faults, the Mission Ridge Fault Zone to the north and the Mesa Fault to the south. The Mission Ridge Fault Zone runs along the range of hills known locally as the "Riviera", and the Mesa Fault defines the northern boundary of the band of hills called the "Mesa". These two faults converge near the Five Points Shopping Center at Los Positas and State Streets. Neither is well exposed, with their locations being inferred from topography, springs, seeps, and well logs.<ref>Norris, p. 101</ref> The Mesa Fault continues southeast offshore into the Santa Barbara Channel; the portion of the fault offshore is believed to have been responsible for the destructive [[1925 Santa Barbara earthquake|earthquake of 1925]].<ref>Norris, p. 102</ref> The Mission Ridge Fault trends east–west, being named the More Ranch Fault west of Santa Barbara, and forms the northern boundary of the uplands which include [[Isla Vista, California|Isla Vista]], More Mesa, and the [[Hope Ranch, California|Hope Ranch]] Hills.<ref>Norris, p. 100–101</ref>

Three major sedimentary bedrock units underlie the coastal plain: the [[Monterey Formation]], the [[Sisquoc Formation]], and the Santa Barbara Formation. The Santa Barbara Formation is one of the main units in the [[aquifer]] underlying the city. Its coarse-grained freshwater-bearing portion, much of which is below sea level, is protected from seawater intrusion by the More Ranch Fault, which has shielded it by uplifting less-permeable rocks between it and the sea. The majority of water wells in the Santa Barbara-Goleta area pull from this geologic unit.<ref>Norris, p. 95, 101</ref>

The Santa Ynez Mountains to the north of the city consist of multiple layers of sandstone and [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]] units dating from the [[Jurassic|Jurassic Age]] to the present, uplifted rapidly since the [[Pliocene]], upended, and in some areas completely overturned. Rapid uplift has given these mountains their craggy, scenic character, and numerous landslides and debris flows, which form some of the urban and suburban lowland area, are testament to their geologically active nature.<ref name="Minor">{{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3001/downloads/pdf/SIM3001map.pdf |title=Geologic Map of the Santa Barbara Coastal Plain Area, Santa Barbara County, California |last1=Minor |first1=S.A. |display-authors=etal |date=2009 |publisher=USGS |access-date=December 20, 2015 |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116103534/http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3001/downloads/pdf/SIM3001map.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>