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Project description
My project is based on analyzing pressure solution strain measurements to infer the regional stress orientations.
My mentor Jan Vermilye and I will apply this methodology to the Quatal Fault.
Pressure solution involves the process in which grains dissolve along the contact where stress is the greatest In conglomerates the squeezing together of cobbles results in indentations on the cobble surface. This indentation is perpendicular to the maximum compressive stress axis.
We expect the inferred stresses to reflect a thrusting regime.

Study area description
Quatal Canyon is located in the Los Padres National Forest in the Cuyama Badlands area. It is in northern Ventura County approximately 130 km northwest of Los Angeles. There are two,lithologic formations. The Simmler formation is made up of Oligocene sandstone and conglomerate. The Caliente formation is made up of younger non-marine Miocene sandstone and some conglomerate. In places, the fault follows the unconformity between these two formations. At other places it cuts through the formations.
The Quatal fault is a shallow north-dipping fault with a strike roughly east-west. The mapped length of the fault is approximately 12 km. It has an irregular shape: concave south in the west and concave north in the east. The San Andreas fault runs 2-7 km north of the Quatal fault.