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Home > California > CA - Quarry Links & Photographs > Monterey County
"A belt of limestone shows in several places on the west slope of the Santa Lucia range, not very far from the coast line. Its most northern outcrop is on Long Ridge, in Sec. 9 T. 18 S., R. 1 E. It runs in a southern direction to Sec. 36, T. 18 S., R. 1 E., and Sec. 31, T. 18 S., R. 2 E. Another conspicuous outcrop of limestone is found in Sec. 30, T. 19 S., R. 3 E. Farther down the coast, in the southern part of the county, the limestone forms very steep escarpments along the shore. Another belt of white, coarsely crystalline limestone is found at the foot of the west slope of the Gabilan range, especially east of Salinas. These limestone exposures are remnants of a thin bed overlying the granite."
"A belt of sandstone runs along the east slope of the Santa Lucia range, from Reliez Canon, T. 21 S., R. 7 E., in the northwesterly direction past Tassajara Springs into T. 19 S., R. 3 E. Near these springs, in Sec. 36, T. 19 S., R. 4 E., this sandstone, which is gray and olive in color, has been quarried and used for building the hotel. (See XIIIth Report, California State Mining Bureau, p. 636.) It is, however, too far from a railroad to be, as yet, of commercial importance."
"Monterey County, by Clarence A. Waring and Walter W. Bradley, Field Assistant. Field Work in September and November, 1914.
Introduction.
"Situated as it is, Monterey County offers inducements which have only been partially realized. Extending from the Pajaro River to the Sixth Standard Parallel south, with an excellent bay, and a railroad the full length of the Salinas River Valley, the county has little to stand in the way of development. The more fertile valley lands of the Salinas, San Lorenzo, San Antonio and Nacimiento rivers are practically all held as large 'ranchos' which would yield enormous revenue were they subdivided and subjected to intensive cultivation.
"The mineral resources have been little more than prospected, and within its boundaries lie mineral deposits which will contribute enormously to the future wealth of the state.
Description.
Location (of Monterey County)
"Monterey County borders the central coast of California and is separated from Santa Cruz County, to the north, by the Pajaro River. It adjoins San Luis Obispo County to the south, while to the east it is bordered by San Benito, Fresno, and Kings counties.
Topography (of Monterey County)
"The principal topographic features of Monterey County are the great central Salinas Valley drainage basin, paralleling the coast and emptying into Monterey Bay; the Santa Lucia Range along the western coast; and the southwestern slope of the Diablo Range on the eastern border.
Geology (of Monterey County)
"The geology of most of Monterey County is mapped and described in our Bulletin No. 69, on the Petroleum Industry of California. The Santa Lucia Range has a core of granitic rock. This is exposed in Santa Lucia Peak at an elevation of 5967 feet, and throughout the territory between Carmel River and Sur River, either along the coast or in the river cuts. Limestone and gneiss overlie the granite in places and make up Pico Blanco…, Ventana Cone…, Marble Peak…, Twin Peak and Con Peak…" Most of the area from Mill Creek southward to Three Peaks and bounded on the northeast by Nacimiento River is made up of Franciscan sandstone and shale with intrusions of serpentine. It is in the region of these serpentine intrusions, in the latter intrusive acid dikes, that the important mineral deposits of the Los Burros district are found. There is evidence of much faulting and the precipitous coast…follows a fault line. Monterey sandstone and conglomerate flank the mountains on the southwest side of Nacimiento River and dip towards the valley. Most of the older sediments exposed east of the Nacimiento consist of Monterey shale, which is considerably folded east of Jolon.
"Along the coast, resting unconformably on the granite and Franciscan rocks, are raised beach deposits…."
Mineral Resources (in Monterey County)
"Embracing an area of 3330 square miles and supporting a population of 24,146 (census of 1910), this stock-raising and agricultural county produced twelve mineral substances in 1913, valued at $178,679.
"The production table…shows the recorded output and value of the various mineral resources since 1893. The table does not show the output of single companies which produced brick, copper, coal, feldspar, fuller's earth, petroleum, quicksilver and sandstone."
Lime and Limestone (in Monterey County).
"The Mineral Earths Supply Company shipped several hundred tons of limestone during the year 1914 from north of King City.
"Deposits of considerable magnitude exist in the Santa Lucia mountains about three miles from the coast and extending roughly from Bixby's Creek southward to Cone Peak. Pico Blanco…is capped with limestone and isolated deposits occur overlying the Santa Lucia granite and interbedded with gneiss throughout the ranges southward. Marble Peak at the head of Lion Gulch contains considerable limestone and some marble, which dip about 35 NW. The deposits are interbedded with gneiss and faulting has broken them up to such an extent that a detailed examination would be necessary to determine their economic value. Deposits of possible economic importance occur on the ranch of Mr. John Little of Monterey, south of Point Sur; and on the 640-acre ranch of Mrs. C. L. Koch of Pacific Grove, in Sec. 36, T. 18 S., R. 1 E., which includes in part the deposit on Pico Blanco. A landing place suitable for shipping the latter deposit is said to exist north of Point Sur and 5 miles from Pico Blanco."
Area: 3,330 square miles.
Population: 27,980 (1920 census)
Location: West-central portion of state, bordering on Pacific Ocean."Monterey County produced eight mineral substances during the year 1919, having a total value of $133,504, as compared with the 1918 output worth $119,687. Its mineral resources include brick, clay, copper, coal, dolomite, feldspar, fuller's earth, gold, silver, gypsum, infusorial earth, limestone, mineral water, petroleum, quicksilver, glass-sand, sandstone, silver, and miscellaneous stone.
"In fortieth place, commercial production for 1919 was as follows:"
(Headings for the information below are: Substance, Amount, and Value.)
Dolomite, 8,280 tons, $29,120
Stone, miscellaneous, ---, $73,031
Other minerals,* ---, $43,353
(Total value) $148,504(* Includes barytes, coal, feldspar, diatomaceous earth, salt, and silica.)
| Monterey County, 1916 Map, from California Mineral Production for 1919 (with County Maps), Bulletin No. 88, by Walter W. Bradley, California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco: California State Printing Office, 1920, pp. 195. |  |
Dolomite (in Monterey County)
"Dolomite deposits in the foothills of the Gabilan Range in Monterey County near Natividad are more accessible and closer to the railroad than those on the other slope of the mountains in San Benito County, and have been worked on a larger scale. Production began in 1917 and continued at the rate of a few thousand tons annually up to the beginning of World War II. The manufacture of magnesium on this coast and the increase in production of steel during the war led to one large operation from which several hundred thousand tons of dolomite was produced. The only other operator of importance, and the only one to keep up regular production over a period of years has been a steel company which uses dolomite for lining basic open-hearth furnaces. Smaller tonnages, produced irregularly and used for terrazo, stucco dash, flux, lime, and CO2 gas, have come from several other deposits not lately active.
"Geological age and conditions are similar to those mentioned under San Benito County. The dolomite deposits and accompanying larger bodies of limestone are older than the pre-Franciscan granitic rock which has intruded and altered their lower beds, notably on Gabilan Peak, from which the limestone series takes its name. The limestone and dolomite beds, particularly on the lower slopes, as near Natividad, are remnants of what were probably much more extensive beds of the Sur series, described by Parker D. Trask (26, p. 134)* and John E. Allen (46, pp. 17-21).** The meager fossil remains found by Allen were insufficient to permit a determination of age of the limestone or even the nature of the organisms that built the deposit."
(* Geology of the Point Sur Quadrangle, California," University of California, Department of Geological Science Bulletin, vol. 16, pp. 119-186, 1926.)
(** Allen, John Eliot, "Geology of the San Juan Batista Quadrangle, California," California Div. Mines Bull. 133, pp. 9-75,1946.)
Limestone (and Marble in Monterey County)
"Limestone deposits are numerous in Monterey County and several have been worked in the past; but it has been years since commercial production was reported. The former operations have been described in early reports of the Division of Mines (Hanks, H. G. 84, p. 110; 86, pp. 29, 97; Irelan, W. Jr. 88, p. 410; Preston, E. B. 92, p. 260; Crawford, J. J. 94, p. 392; 96, p. 629; Aubury, L. E. 06, pp. 72, 73; Waring, C. A., 19, pp. 606-607; Laizure, C. McK 25, pp. 42-43; Fiedler, W. M. 44).* More recently, students of geology have examined and described parts of the county (Trask, P. D. 26, Reiche, p. 37).** Lime production stopped in 1910, and the last recorded output of limestone was in 1917. The early work was near Rockland Landing in T. 22 S., R. 4 E., where four kilns were operated in the eighties and early nineties, and lime was loaded onto steamers off-shore by means of an aerial tramway. Another early-day operation was in sec. 16, T. 18 S., R. 1 E., on Bixby Creek only 3 miles from the coast, where two or three kilns were operated from 1904-10. Farther inland, 6 to 12 miles northeast of Salinas, where dolomite has recently been quarried, considerable limestone was produced for use in beet-sugar factories.
(* (1) Henry G. Hanks, "Catalogue and Description of Minerals of California as far as known, with Special Reference to Those Having an Economic Value," California Mining Bureau Report 4, pp. 61-397, 1884. (2) Henry G. Hanks, "Building Stones and Building Materials in California," California Mining Bureau Report 6, pt. 1, pp. 16-34, 1886…California minerals, pp. 91-141. (3) William Irelan, Jr., Eighth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist for the Year Ending October 1, 1888, California Mining Bureau Report 8, 948 pp. illus., 1888. (4) E. B. Preston, "Monterey County," California Mining bureau Report 11, pp. 259-262, 1892. (5) J. J. Crawford, Twelfth Report of the State Mineralogist, California Mining Bureau Report 12, 541 pp., 1894. (6) J. J. Crawford, Thirteenth Report (Third Biennial) of the State Mineralogist for the Two Years Ending September 15, 1896, California Mining Bureau Report 13, 726 pp., 1896. (7) Lewis E. Aubury, The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, California Mining Bureau Bulletin 38, 412 pp., illus. 1906. (8) Clarence A. Waring and W. W. Bradley, "Monterey County," California Mining Bureau Report 15, pp. 595-615, 1919. (9) C. McK Laizure, San Francisco Field Division, "San Luis Obispo County," California Mining Bureau Report 21, pp. 499-538, 1925. (10) William Morris Fiedler, "Geology of the Jamesburg Quadrangle, Monterey County, California," California Division of Mines Report 40, pp. 177-250, map, 1944.)
(**Parker D. Trask, Geology of the Point Sur Quadrangle, California," University of California, Department of Geological Science Bulletin, vol. 16, pp. 119-186, 1926.
Parry Reiche, "Geology of the Lucia Quadrangle," University of California, Department of Geological Science Bulletin, vol. 24, pp. 115-168, map, 1937)"The limestone deposits are part of the Sur series which includes also schists, quartzite, and gneiss and is the oldest group of rocks in the region. They are pre-Franciscan according to reports of studies of them in nearby areas. Most of the limestone bodies near the coast are small. The exceptions are the Pico Blanco deposit, 5 miles east of Point Sur, which has not been worked; and the deposits previously mentioned, near Rockland Landing and Bixby Landing, which have long been abandoned. The limestone has been altered to marble, which ranges in purity from almost pure CaCO3 to 70 percent or less CaCO3 with high percentage of diopside, feldspars, and other products of metamorphism. The grain size varies from fine to very coarse. In general, the beds of marble are usually not over 50 feet, and rarely 100 feet thick, and they are longest in a northwesterly direction, conforming to the structure of the enclosing rocks.
"The coastal ridges in which so many deposits occur over an airline distance of about 32 miles between Bixby Creek on the north and Mill Creek on the south, are rough and steep. One state road follows the coast the entire distance and there are no roads connecting with the railroad and main highway on the east. The only outlet for limestone from this region would be to the coast, where lime was once loaded directly on ships. Deposits in the eastern and northeastern part of the county are within reach of the railroad, and those on the slopes of Gabilan (Fremont) Peak are located so they will ultimately be available for use in the cement plant near San Juan Bautista. These latter deposits are similar to those described under San Benito County. The map shows location of most deposits in the county."
(* Please note this list does not include sand or gravel quarries.)
"Marble Peak deposit is in sec. 22, T. 20 S., R. 3 E., about 3 miles from Anderson Landing on the coast. The peak is 3966 feet high. Several small deposits flank it on the west and south. None of them have been developed."
"Monterey Lime Company, Mills Building, San Francisco, owns limestone quarries and limekilns on Bixby Creek, about 3 miles from the coast, in Sec. 16, T. 18 S., R. 1 E. Two quarries are opened on the north side of the creek. The limestone is much shattered and decomposed to considerable depths along the fissures. Where fresh, the rock is a white crystalline limestone, with grayish-blue streaks, closely approaching to marble. The surrounding rock is granite. The property is equipped with two patent continuous kilns of a daily capacity of 70 barrels, which were started in August, 1904; a similar kiln of 70 barrels capacity is under construction. The company produces two grades of lime, the Diamond M and common lime."
"Monterey Lime Company worked deposits of limestone on Bixby Creek in sec. 16, T. 18 S., R. 1 E., about 3 miles from the coast. Lime production began in 1904 with two continuous kilns and in 1905 a third kiln was added. Work was suspended in 1910. Where fresh, the limestone is white and crystalline, with grayish-blue streaks, but much of it is shattered."
"Pacific Carrara Marble Company was organized before 1880 to work a deposit of white marble reported near Carmel Bay. There is no published record to indicate that production was ever made."
"The following (deposit) was either worked as noted or undeveloped."
"Gabilan Peak (Bardin) deposit on the south and west side of the peak, is now partly included in Fremont Peak State Park. This is a siliceous limestone in which small deposits of barite were worked between 1915-21."
"Jolon Deposit. E. B. Preston (92, p. 260),* mentions a shell deposit 'a few miles south of Jolon,' which supplied material for a lime kiln operated some years earlier, which was then idle. Jolon is about 19 miles by road southwest of San Lucas."
(* E. B. Preston, "Monterey County," California Mining bureau Report 11, pp. 259-262, 1892.)
Along one of the hikes in the park you can view four kiln towers that were in use in the late 19th century. According to this web site, ".these ovens supplied a thriving industry: Limestone was 'cooked' out of the rocks-a real stone soup-for use in building materials."
"The following (deposit) was either worked as noted or undeveloped."
"Chalone Creek deposit is in the southeast part of T. 17 S., R. 7 E., about 6 miles east of Metz. It is undeveloped."
"Unnamed Deposits in Jamesburg Quadrangle. Nearly two-thirds of the area of this quadrangle, as mapped by William M. Fiedler (44),* is occupied by rocks of the Sur series, which are so rich in limestone in the region to the west. Here, however, only a few deposits have been mapped. Most are in mountainous country devoid of roads. The area as a whole is probably too remote to be considered as a possible commercial source of limestone. Known deposits are located in sec. 34, T. 17 S., R. 3 E.; secs. 17, 18, 20, T. 18 S., R. 4E.; secs. 17, 20, T. 19 S., R. 3 D. (three separate small deposits)."
(* William Morris Fiedler, "Geology of the Jamesburg Quadrangle, Monterey County, California," California Division of Mines Report 40, pp. 177-250, map, 1944.)
Mine name: Natividad Quarry; Operator: National Refractories; Address & County: P. O. Box 1938, Salinas, CA 93902, Monterey County; Phone: (408) 633-2413; Latitude: 36.75, Longitude: -121.59, and Mine location number: Map No. 401; Mineral commodity: Dolomite.
Mine name: Stonewall Canyon Quarry; Operator: Syar Industries, Inc.; Address & County: P. O. Box 867, Soledad, CA 93960, Monterey County; Phone: (408) 671-3576; Latitude: 36.45, Longitude: -121.27, and Mine location number: Map No. 405; Mineral commodity: Stone.
"Nelson Creek deposits are along the creek of that name, about 20 miles northeast of San Miguel and 3 to 4 miles west of Parkfield. The limestone outcrops are on granite along the west side of the San Andreas fault and both rocks have been brecciated and recemented. There is no record of any work having been done here."
"L. Patriquin et al. of Parkfield, have an undeveloped deposit of white marble in Sec. 6, T. 23 S., R. 14 E., near Parkfield. The ground is under lease to E. G. Lewis of Atascadero, who is drilling nearby for oil."
"Patriquin marble deposit is in sec. 6. T. 23 S., R. 14 E., about 18 miles northeast of the railroad. The marble is reported to be white. It has never been developed."
"Pico Blanco deposit is on the mountain of that name (elevation 3710 feet) in sec. 36, T. 18 S., R. 1 E., and extends north into section 25 as well as south into secs. 1 and 2, T. 19 S., R. 1 E. It is 5 miles east of Point Sur. According to Trask (26),* it is the largest of the deposits in the Point Sur quadrangle, being 'more than 1000 feet in thickness, but it thins rapidly in either direction.'
(* Parker D. Trask, Geology of the Point Sur Quadrangle, California," University of California, Department of Geological Science Bulletin, vol. 16, pp. 119-186, 1926.)
"The topography is rough and mountainous and the nearest road is about 2 ½ miles distant. There is said to be a landing on the coast north of Big Sur and about 5 miles from the deposit. The old Koch Ranch covers section 36. So far as known, the deposit is undeveloped."
"Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company, 211 Drumm street, San Francisco, owns the former Rockland Lime and Lumber Company's plant at Rockland Landing, in Sec. 22, T. 22 S., R. 4 E. Formerly four continuous limekilns were in operation, but the plant has been idle for a number of years. (See also VIIIth Report of California State Mining Bureau, p. 480; XIIth ibid., p. 392; and XIIIth ibid., p. 629)
"Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company for many years owned the Rockland Lime and Lumber Company deposits in secs. 14, 15, T. 22 S., R. 4 E., and the loading place in section 22 nearby, from which lime was loaded by an aerial tramway 1000 feet long onto vessels standing offshore. Part, if not all of this property is now within the boundaries of Hunter Liggett Military Reservation. Four limekilns were operated 3700 feet inland as early as the late eighties. The property has remained idle for over 40 years. The large deposits of limestone here have been so thoroughly broken by landslides that the canyon side is covered by a loose layer of angular limestone blocks. All of the limestone has been changed to marble. In this region it occurs over a vertical range of several hundred feet."
"The following…(deposit) was worked before 1910 in the region northeast and east of Salinas, principally for use in beet-sugar refining. None of the local limestone has been so used in recent years."
"Alisal Ranch, about 5 miles east of Salinas."
Bethlehem Steel Company - See entry below entitled: Pacific Coast Steel Company (later Bethlehem Steel Company) Dolomite Deposit on the Sterling Ranch.
(Operator) Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (producer of burnt lime and dolomite; (Address) Box 1531, Salinas; (Location) Salinas.
"The following…(deposit) was worked before 1910 in the region northeast and east of Salinas, principally for use in beet-sugar refining. None of the local limestone has been so used in recent years."
"Kellogg Ranch, 16 miles south of east of Salinas."
"Los Vergeles Rancho. In lots 1 and 3 of the Los Vergeles Rancho; Mrs. J. H. Wythe, corner of Minnesota and Lincoln avenues, San Jose, owner; about 12 miles northeast of Salinas, on the San Juan road, several deposits of limestone occur, two of which are quite extensive. The stone ranges from a coarsely crystalline white and bluish-white calcite to a very compact, holocrystalline, fine-grained marble. It all averages very high in lime content and is suitable for cement and sugar purposes. Preparations are being made to open a quarry."
"Los Vergeles Ranch deposits are 11 to 13 miles northeast of Salinas on the highway to San Juan Bautista, on 250 acres of land. They are part of a group of limestone bodies which extend for over 6 miles at intervals from San Benito County westward. The highway crosses one of the outcrops about midway of the group, so that most of the limestone on both sides is within 2 ½ miles of a paved road. A tunnel was placed under the highway when the latter was built, to permit working the limestone most of which can be handled by gravity.
"No analysis is available, but the material is claimed to be of good grade, ranging from coarsely crystalline white and bluish to a compact fine-grained marble. Some has been used by Judson Iron Works (Laizure, C. McK 25, p. 43).*
(* C. McK Laizure, San Francisco Field Division, "San Luis Obispo County," California Mining Bureau Report 21, pp. 499-538, 1925.)
"The following…(deposit) was worked before 1910 in the region northeast and east of Salinas, principally for use in beet-sugar refining. None of the local limestone has been so used in recent years."
"Natividad Ranch, 6 miles northeast of Salinas, close to the dolomite quarry of Bethlehem Steel Company.
"Just north of Natividad Ranch, limestone was quarried and hauled 1 ½ miles north to an old kiln near Gabilan Creek."
"Pacific Coast Steel Company prior to 1940, and thereafter Bethlehem Steel Company, 20th and Illinois Streets, San Francisco, have quarried dolomite for many years from a deposit on the Sterling Ranch in what would be sec. 2, T. 14 S., R. 3 E., M.D. if surveyed, about half a mile north of the Permanente quarry described…(in the Permanente Metals Corporation Dolomite Deposit entry below). Production has usually been comparatively small and for their own use in lining bottoms of open-hearth steel furnaces.
"The following have been mentioned as small producers 20 to 25 years ago but not recently: H. Bardin, C. Z. Hebert, C. Patton, and Robert Porter, all of Salinas (Boalich, E. S. 21, p. 156).
(* E. S. Boalich, "Monterey County," California Mining Bureau Report 17, pp. 156-157, 1921.)
"Permanente Metals Corporation, Permanente, California, produced dolomite on a large scale during the late war from a deposit 6 ½ miles by road northeast of Salinas. The deposit is in the lower foothills of the Gabilan Mountains near Natividad School, at less than 1000 feet elevation. Production has continued since the war, and the dolomite is treated at the Moss Landing plant to make magnesian refractories.
"Work began in August 1942 and at time of visit in December 1943 the quarry was 500 feet wide, had been extended 200 feet into the hill and had a face about 175 feet high. Every 2 to 3 months a series of 10 churn-drill holes was put down 50 feet and blasted with bag powder. A Marion 2 ½-cubic-yard electric shovel loaded trucks which delivered rock to the primary crusher just below the quarry floor on the west slope. Material under three-quarters of an inch was rejected here and left in a waste pile, as it carried considerable fine, thoroughly decomposed granite, which occurs in the quarry in the form of small offshoots or dikes from the underlying Santa Lucia granite. The coarser dolomite, which was white and quite pure, was carried by a large belt conveyor to the plant at the foot of the hill, in part for finer crushing and storage in bins from which it was taken by belt conveyors to two 8- by 300-foot rotary kilns, and in part for shipment as crude dolomite. The portion that was calcined at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit was taken by truck 12 miles to the company's plant at Moss Landing, Monterey County, where it was treated with sea water, resulting in replacement of the calcium by magnesium, so that after thickening and filtration a cake of nearly pure magnesium hydroxide was obtained. This was calcined, giving 96 percent MgO, which was hauled to the Permanente plant at Permanente, Santa Clara County, for making magnesium by the Hansgirg process…."
"Crude dolomite was hauled 6 ½ miles by truck to a loading silo at the railroad at Salinas, for shipment to the steel plant. More than half a million tons of dolomite was produced from this quarry to the end of 1944. Waste in quarrying was high, running close to 50 percent. For making magnesium, the company desired dolomite carrying over 20 percent MgO (theoretically pure dolomite would carry 21.86 percent MgO). The following analysis from the company checks quite closely with those for San Benito County deposits.
Analysis of dolomite, Permanente Metals Corporation
CaO, 31.7 percent
MgO, 20.5 percent
SiO2, 1.0 percent
Fe2O3, 0.2 percent
Al2O3, 0.2 percent
CO2, 46.4 percent"The deposit is on the Sterling and Salmos Ranches and was worked under lease with a sliding scale of royalty."
| Plate 28 - B. Permanente Metals Corporation Dolomite Quarry - Near Natividad School, Monterey County. |  |
"Spreckels Sugar Company, Salinas, owns several limestone quarries east and southeast of Salinas, located principally along Alisal Creek in the Rancho El Alisal and Rancho Cienega del Gabilan, about 6 miles from Salinas, in the belt west of the Gabilan range above described. The limestone is used in the beet-sugar factory. The rock is a very white, coarsely crystalline limestone, which makes an attractive white building stone, of which some rubble masonry has been made in Salinas.
"An extensive deposit of limestone is reported in the Gabilan range, at the head of Chalone Creek, in the southeast corner of T. 17 S., R. 7 E., about 6 miles (air line) east from Metz, a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad."
Commercial use of material within this site is strictly prohibited. It is not to be captured, reworked, and placed inside another web site. © . All rights reserved. Peggy B. and George (Pat) Perazzo.