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Home > California > CA - Quarry Links & Photographs > San Bernardino County > List of Stone Quarries
(* Please note this list does not include sand or gravel quarries.)
"Adelanto deposit is on 320 acres of patented land in sec. 2, T. 6 N., R. 6 W., S.B., 6 miles northwest of Adelanto at an elevation of 3,000 feet. It was sold late in 1946 to Southwestern Portland Cement Company, Victorville.
"This is a deposit of blue-gray to white, fine to medium crystalline limestone striking N. 20 W. across the Black Marble and Dee patented placer claims for half a mile. It is at the southeast end of the Shadow Mountains, and is shown on the state geologic map (Jenkins, O.P. 38) as 'undivided Paleozoic metasediments.' Such rocks are described in a nearby area by William J. Miller (44, p. 98)* as late Paleozoic (Oro Grande metasediments). The principal members of the series are the limestone and nearly white to light-greenish-gray quartzite. Thin bands of the quartzite and of biotitic quartz schist may be found interbedded with the limestone, which is generally a high-calcium stone. On this property the beds are said to be over 1000 feet thick and to rise 400 feet above the desert plain. According to Tucker and Sampson (43, p. 516)** this property is estimated to contain over 50,000,000 tons of limestone. The following is an analysis of the stone by Smith Emery & Co.
SiO2, 3.36 percent
Al2O3 and Fe2O3, 0.74 percent
CaO, 52.50 percent
MgO, 0.36 percent
Ignition loss, 41.52 percent
CaCO3, 94.00 percent(* William J. Miller, "Geology of parts of the Barstow quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California," California Div. Mines Rept. 40, pp. 73-112, 18 figs, pls. 5-6, 1944)
(** W. Burling Tucker, "Mineral resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"…Late in 1946, (Southwest Portland Cement Company)…purchased the Adelanto deposit on 320 acres of patented land in sec. 2, T. 6 N., R. 6 W., about 13 miles in an air-line northwest of Victorville."
"Chalmers dolomite deposit is on patented sec. 29, T. 6 N., R. 13 E., S.B., 640 acres, 6 miles east of Amboy and 1 mile north of paved highway U. S. 66 A. F. Becker, 4278 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, was the owner in 1943 (Tucker, W. B. 43, pp. 517-518).*
(* W. Burling Tucker, "Mineral resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"The dolomite occurs as roof pendants on a number of hills forming the southeast tip of the Bristol Mountains. The elevation ranges from 1000 to 1400 feet. This dolomite has been classified as 'undifferentiated Palaezoic' (sic) and the amount available was estimated by Tucker and Sampson as 1,000,000 tons. They quoted the following analysis made by Smith Emery & Company, Los Angeles:"
Acid insoluble, 1.00 percent
Alumnia (Al2O3, 0.36 percent
Iron oxide (Fe2O3), 0.20 percent
Calcium oxide (CaO), 33.68 percent
Magnesium oxide (MgO), 18.23 percent
Loss on ignition, 46.50 percent
Total, 99.97 percent
"Jack Frost deposit, consisting of 160 acres, is in the Bristol Mountains, 6 ½ miles northeast of Amboy, a station on the Santa Fe Railroad, in sec. 26, T. 6 N., R. 12 E., S.B.; owners are D. N. Smith and associates, of Los Angeles.
"This deposit of crystalline limestone is approximately 3000 feet long, 1200 feet wide, and 400 feet thick. The strike is northwest, the dip 30 to 40 NE. The deposit has been intruded by a series of diorite and andesitic dikes striking N. 30 W., dipping 60 to 70 NE. Idle."
"Mayflower claim is a lode location (20.66 acres) 8 miles north of Amboy. G. A. Childers, of 128 North Flower Street, Los Angeles 12, California, is the owner. The claim covers a vein of white limestone 10 feet wide which is reported to carry strontianite."
"Snowcap deposit is on 160 acres in sec. 30, T. 6 N., R. 13 E., S.B., on the southeast slope of the Bristol Mountains, 6 miles northeast of Amboy and about 1 mile from a paved highway.
"The deposit is reported to be 700 feet thick by 1500 feet long and to be high-grade calcium carbonate, but no analysis is available. Garnet occurs with the limestone, probably near a contact with an igneous rock which does not outcrop. The garnet zone is about 20 feet wide.
"Robert Allison, Frank L. Furlow, 1755 Griffith Park Avenue, Los Angeles, and associates, have claimed the land for many years, but so far as known the limestone is undeveloped."
"Baker limestone deposit comprises 160 acres in sec. 26 (?), T. 14 N., R. 8 E., S.B., 1 mile west of Baker; owner is J. W. Neblett, Riverside, California. This deposit forms a rounded hill which rises 400 feet and is 2 miles in length along its north-south axis. The limestone is crystalline, blue to gray in color and is approximately 98 percent calcium carbonate."
"McAntire and Proctor marble deposit is 10 miles south of Baker and 4 ½ miles east of Soda. A. B. McAntire, 7721 South Main Street, Los Angeles and Elmo Proctor, Yermo, were listed as owners in 1943 (Tucker, W. B. 43, p. 524).* The variegated marble forms a hill 400 feet above the desert level. The property is undeveloped."
(* W. Burling Tucker, "Mineral Resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"Johnson dolomite deposit is 5 miles south of Balch, a station on the Union Pacific Railroad, at 900 feet elevation. Owner is Edward Johnson, Baker, California. There are three 20-acre claims, located in 1942. Prospecting has been by open pit. Johnson reports that no production has been made and there is no equipment on the claims."
"Snow White marble deposit is in the New York Mountains, 4 miles southwest of Barnwell. So far as known, it has not be developed."
"Barstow Lime Quarry, C. M. LeStrange, Barstow, owner, 3 miles northwest of Barstow. The material is stated to be fairly good marble. Not in operation."
"J. B. Cook, 209 Laughlin Building, and L. A. Porter, Figueroa and Twenty-first streets, Los Angeles, own a deposit of white marble in Sec. 33, T. 10 N., R. 2 W., S. B. M., west of and near Barstow, having a northwesterly course, dipping steeply northeast, and stated to have an outcrop over 100 feet wide and to be three fourths of a mile long. Little development work has been done on this deposit."
"Parker marl deposit consists of 8 claims, 7 miles east of Barstow (Tucker, W. B. 31, p. 386).* There is no record of any activity at these claims."
(* W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, "Los Angeles Field District, San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 27, pp. 262-401, 1931)
"Scheerer Limestone Deposits…Scheerer…has limestone deposits in Secs. 27, 28, 32, 33, T. 10 N., R. 2 W., S. B. M., 2 miles west of Barstow and adjoining the old Waterman silver mine. They are ½ mile from the railroad, and the limestone is a high-grade, being suitable for lime, cement or sugar making."
"St. Francis Marble Mine is in Sec. 28, T. 10 N., R. 1 W., S. B. M., about 2 ½ miles northeast of Barstow. White, variegated and gray colored marble is said to occur in slabs 1' to 4' thick, in a deposit of considerable extent. Very little development work has been done as it is worked for assessment only. Owners, Chas. McIlroy and F. C. Mitchell, Barstow, Cal."
"Stevens Deposit; R. H. Greer, 469 Belmont avenue, and J. M. Day, 3102 Hobart avenue, Los Angeles; 2 ½ miles northeast of Barstow. The deposit is claimed to be of considerable extent, of white and pure marble, in a schistose country rock. The material is, however, stated to be somewhat shattered. Very little development work."
"Three Colored Marble Quarry is in the unsurveyed portion of T. 7 N., R. 2 W., S. B. M., 22 miles south of Barstow and 10 miles southeast of Hicks Station on the Santa Fe Railroad. The marble is found on the east flank of a bare, rugged ridge, locally known as Stoddard Peak Ridge, and is reached by a good desert road from Barstow. The only water in the district is at Stoddard Well, 6 or 8 miles from the deposit on the road to Barstow. The deposit consists of a number of beds of brecciated mottled green, black, and white marble varying in thickness from a few inches to over 10 ft. Where best developed the marble occurs through a thickness of 200 ft. or more. The strike of the beds is north and south, the dip westward at a low angle into the ridge.
"Quoting from the report of R. W. Pack:* 'The marble is essentially a brecciated, white, crystalline limestone recemented by a greenish calcareous cement. The brecciated fragments are angular and vary in size, some of them being as much as 6 or 8 inches in length. In general effect the marble is mottled green, black, and white, but this appearance varies greatly, owing to the irregular size and staining of the brecciated fragments, to their irregular spacing, and to the differences in the tone of the cementing materials. The marble shows very little decomposition from weathering, but it is extensively jointed and the surface outcrops show very few unbroken blocks more than 3 ft. in diameter. Many of the joints unquestionably disappear with depth. This is well shown in a small cut driven about 20 ft. into the hill near the center of the deposit (see photo No. 48), where several large blocks apparently free from flaws, were obtained.'
(* Page 881 footnote: U. S. G. S. Bulletin 540, pp. 365-367.)
"The deposit is practically undeveloped, only a few hundred feet of stone having been removed, some of which was used in the Stevens Building in Santa Barbara. The quarry at present is 25' wide, 20' into the hill, with a 30' face. This deposit is of great commercial value as the marble is a highly ornamental stone. No work is now (circa 1915-1916) being done on it. The owner will lease or sell this property. E. T. Hillis, owner, Barstow, Cal."
"Verde Antique Marble Quarry, formerly known as the Gem Quarry or the Kimble Mine, is in Sec. 28, T. 7 N., R. 2 W., about 2 miles southwest of the Three-Colored Marble Quarry. It was worked years ago, and some of the marble, a mottled serpentinous limestone of yellowish green color, was used for interior decoration in several buildings in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The quarry has been idle for a number of years.
"Bibl.: Bulletin 38, pp. 147-148."
"Marble placer claim is in NW ¼ sec. 13, T. 11 N., R. 6 E., S.B., adjoining on the south the White Marble No. 1 claim of Baxter and Ballardie quarry near Baxter on the Union Pacific Railroad. A railroad spur from the main line crosses the claim, which was worked between 1914 and 1928 by the Sugar Lime Rock Company, then operators of the Baxter and Ballardie quarry. The stone is similar in the two quarries."
"Baxter and Ballardie Quarries comprise four claims totally 118.62 acres in the S. ½ of Sec. 12, T. 11 N., R. 6 E., S. B. M., and are owned by D. F. and D. A. Baxter and A. W. Ballardie of 915 Union Oil Bldg., Los Angeles. These claims, known as the White Marble No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and Evening Star, join the Mojave River at a point near Baxter Station, on the Salt Lake Route, 197 miles east of Los Angeles. They cover outcroppings for a distance of about 4500 ft., ranging from 400' to 800' is width and from the level of the desert (1380') to a height of 600'. The hills are almost free of soil, the only overburden being a talus of broken limestone on the north side, which slopes at an angle of about 20 ; the south fissures are very precipitous in places and have bunches of talus at the base which afford good sites for quarrying operation. The limestone is broadly stratified and varies slightly in color and texture. That nearest the railroad siding, or the south exposure of Marble Placer No. 1 (see Plate IV) is of a salmon pink of flesh color. This type constitutes 75% of the deposit. Near the center of the hill, forming as it were the backbone of the formation, is a strip of blue limestone of about 10' to 20' in thickness, constituting roughly 10%. There are some beds of pure white, dense, close-grained metamorphosed limestone or marble well adapted for ornamental or building purposes (see Photo No. 46.)…."
"A portion of this deposit is under lease to the Sugar Lime Rock Company, whose officers are: A. R. Peck, president, Trust and Savings Bldg., Los Angeles, and Henry C. Lee, secretary, 522 Pacific Electric Bldg., Los Angeles. Ben C. Brock is superintendent at the quarry, and about 50 laborers and 10 mechanics are employed. This company has a spur track from Baxter to the White Marble No. 1 claim, where most of the quarrying is now being done and the limestone is shipped to the sugar beet factories at Oxnard, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Anaheim and Chino. The equipment consists of one 110-ft. steel boom derrick, 35 h.p. Fairbanks-Morse gas engine, a pumping plant of 30 gallons per minute and storage capacity of 15,000 gallons; nine 1 ½ cu. yards dump cars, machine drills and compressor, several thousand feet of track, and all the necessary bunk and boarding houses for the crew.
"West and south of the White Marble Group, in Sec. 13, is a quarry owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, also operated by the Sugar Lime Rock Company. This is a continuation of the White Marble deposit, and is known as the Marble Placer Claim (see Plate IV). The Sugar Lime Rock Company is shipping about 65,000 tons of limestone annually to the several sugar factories and has been operating since 1914."
| Plate IV. Map of White Marble Group - Limestone Quarries, Baxter, Cal. |  |
| Photo No. 45. White Marble Claim No. 1, showing large dumps of undersize limestone at left which is sold for flux and plaster. Baxter and Ballardie Limestone Quarries at Baxter, Cal. |  |
| Photo No. 46. White Marble Claim No. 2, showing large undeveloped deposit of white marble suitable for building or decorative purposes. Baxter and Ballardie Limestone Quarries at Baxter, Cal. |  |
There is a deposit of crystallized white and yellowish white limestone at this property which takes a fine polish and would make a very attractive building stone. None has been quarried as yet for this purpose (circa 1913-1914)
"Baxter and Ballardie limestone deposits White Marble group and other claims) are in sec. 12, T. 11 N., R. 6 E., S.B., half a mile to a mile north of Baxter on the Union Pacific Railroad, and there are rail facilities near the quarry face. This property was most actively worked 30 years ago and much limestone was shipped to beet-sugar refineries. The property contained 118.62 acres in four claims called White Marble nos. 1, 2, and 3 and Evening Star, in the southern half of the section. The work was done principally on White Marble No. 1 claim on the south half of the southwest quarter of the section. Mrs. Louis D. Rasor, owner, Los Angeles.
"The limestone outcrops for 4500 feet, striking northeast, with a width of 400 to 800 feet and rises 600 feet above the desert. The larger part is salmon or flesh colored, with some beds of blue and white. In 1914-16, about 60 men were employed and about 65,000 tons of limestone was shipped annually. No production has been reported for nearly 20 years. The limestone is folded and has been invaded by dikes. It varies in texture from coarsely crystalline to dense, close-grained marble, there being a large deposit of white marble on the No. 2 claim. The following analysis is from H. C. Cloudman 19, p. 873.*"
(* H. C. Cloudman, "San Bernardino County," California Min. Bur. Rept. 15, pp. 775-899, 1919)
Analysis of limestone from White Marble No. 1 claim
SiO2, 2.24 percent
Fe2O3, Al2O3, 0.53 percent
CaCO3, 97.93 percent
MgCO3, 0.54 percent
CaSO4, 0.15
H2O, 0.21 percent
Total, 101.60 percent
"M. L. Cook, San Bernardino, and J. B. Devore, Pullman Building, Chicago, own a small body of crystalline, flinty limestone in T. 2 N., R. 5 W., S. B. M., west of Cable Canon. G. Wilson of Colton had a limekiln on this deposit, which is now abandoned. This deposit belongs to a series of detached bodies of limestone found along the foothills on the south slope of the San Bernardino range."
"Chubbuck limestone and dolomite deposits are in two extensive holdings described…for convenience under two titles, Chubbuck Lime Company deposits and Chubbuck reserve deposits. The former have been in production for many years. The Chubbuck reserve deposits have been the subject of both geological and engineering investigations that have yielded much interesting information, but so far have been worked only for test purposes.
"Chubbuck Lime Company deposits were first worked in 1925-30 by Charles I. Chubbuck, and since then by Chubbuck Lime Company with Charles I. Chubbuck, president and general manager and Mrs. A. S. Chubbuck, secretary. The main office is at 5000 Worth Street, Los Angeles. The land holdings include three patented association placer claims of 160 acres each in secs. 10, 11, 15, 22, T. 3 N., R. 16 E., S.B.; the E ½ and SW ¼ sec. 16 was patented in March 1947 to Chas. I. Chubbuck by the State of California. The deposits are 1 to 2 miles southwest of Chubbuck, a station on the Parker-Phoenix branch of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway about 16 miles southeast of Cadiz.
"The deposits are roof pendants of high-calcium coarsely crystalline limestone on a series of parallel ridges striking north-northwest with one ridge lying southwest of the others having a deposit of dolomite. Four quarries have been operated. Work has been principally on High Lime Ridge which is about 1 ½ miles long by 1 mile wide rising to an elevation of 1500 feet, about 500 feet above the surrounding desert. The deposits are at the north end of the Iron Mountains.
"The limestone and dolomite here are in the Essex series of metamorphosed sediments with minor amounts of altered igneous material. The Essex series is said to be the oldest unit of the Archean complex, and includes: (1) a basal quartz-feldspar-biotite gneiss about 1500 feet thick; (2) the Chubbuck marble member, 500 to 600 feet thick, consisting of marble, quartzite, and schist; and (3), a thick upper unit of quartz-feldspar-biotite gneiss (Hazzard, J. C. 37).*
(* John C. Hazzard and E. F. Dosch, "Archean rocks in the Piute and Old Woman Mountains, San Bernardino County, California (abstract) Geol. Soc. America Proc. 1936, pp. 308-309, 1937)
"In the quarries opened by 1943, limestone has been worked to a depth of 30 feet, widths of 150 to 200 feet and lengths of 500 to 600 feet. Tucker and Sampson (43, pp. 519-521)* described the operations as follows:
(* W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, "Mineral Resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"'The limestone is being quarried from No. 4 quarry. The broken material is loaded by gas-driven shovel 3/8-yard bucket, into 5-ton dump truck and hauled to ore bin with a capacity of 150 tons. Material is dumped onto railroad iron grizzly spaced to 8 inches; rock from bin loaded into side-dump cars, capacity 2 ½ tons per car; hauled in train of 5 cars by Plymouth gas-driven motor to crushing plant where dumped into ore bin; from bin to Kennedy gyratory crusher, crushed to 1 ½-inch size; crushed rock elevated by bucket elevator to top of screening plant equipped with 5 Cottrell shaking screens, making the following products: 1 1/2-inch, 5/16-inch, 1/8-inch, 16-mesh and 40-mesh. These products go to separate bins above concrete tunnel, there being 4 bins on one side and 2 bins on the other side. The sized products from bins are loaded into steel side-dump cars and hauled over narrow gauge railroad in trains of 4 to 6 cars, capacity 2 ½ tons of rock per car, by Milwaukee gas-driven locomotive to plant at Chubbuck, a distance of 1 mile. The 5/16-inch to 1 ½-inch product to lime kiln plant. The other sizes are hauled by train to trestle to elevator and shipped.
"'The 5/16-inch to 1/8-inch products are ground in pebble mill, then to air separator and the 80 mesh and 20 mesh products are sacked for shipment to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
"'The crushing and screening plant is driven by one 1-cylinder, 50-horsepower Fairbanks-Morse semi-diesel engine and one 35-horsepower semi-diesel Fairbanks-Morse engine drives Sullivan compressor for operation of air drills at quarries. The crushing and screening plant has a capacity of 20 tons per 8-hour shift.
"'Lime kiln plant: The 5/16-inch to 1 ½-inch product from screening plant is hauled by ore train over narrow gauge railroad to hopper to 24-inch belt conveyor to 50-ton storage bin. From bin it is elevated by bucket elevator to circular steel storage bin, capacity 50 tons. From steel storage bin, material is fed by automatic feeder to rotary kiln (50 feet in length by 5 feet in diameter); heated to 2000 F.; the calcined lime from kiln to steel hopper; elevated by bucket elevator to revolving screen and screened to ¼-inch size. The minus ¼-inch size produced to circular steel bin, capacity 40 tons; the plus ¼-inch material to 3 circular steel ore bins, each having a capacity of 40 tons. From the three bins, the lime is drawn by screw conveyer to 20-ton capacity bin, then by automatic feeder to 14-foot by 5-foot pebble mill, driven by 75-horsepower motor. The product from pebble mill then goes to elevator to separator; the oversize returned to pebble mill. The calcined lime is ground to minus 200 mesh for processed lime. The 200 mesh product is elevated to storage bin from which it goes to bag packing machines and is sacked for shipment. The oversize lime products are fines and pebble lime.
"'Limestone products plant: The 5/16-inch and 1/8-inch product to 5 feet in diameter by 14 feet long pebble mill, driven by 60-horsepower motor; the ground product from pebble mill to separator; two products produced are 80 mesh and minus 200 mesh; the oversize from separator returned to ball mill.
"'Power plant at Chubbuck for operating kiln and pebble mills, consists of one 120-horsepower, 4-cylinder, Fairbanks-Morse full diesel engine, direct connected with 75 K.V.A. generator and one 60-horsepower horizontal Fairbanks-Morse full diesel engine. The 110-horsepower diesel engine operates kiln, screen, and pebble mill. When both pebble mills are under operation, the 120-horsepower diesel engine is operated. Water for camp and plant is secured in tank cars from the Santa Fe Railroad Company's wells at Cadiz.
"'The lime products produced are processed lime and pebble lime. Limestone products are 40 mesh limestone, 80 mesh limestone, 200 mesh for whiting, chicken grits and foundry rock 1 ½-inch sizes.'
"'Analysis of crude limestone
Silica (SiO2), 0.20 percent
Alumina (Al2O3), 0.30 percent
Calcium oxide (CaO), 56.00 percent
Magnesium oxide (MgO), none
Loss in ignition, 43.30 percent"Twenty-four men are employed at quarry and plant."
"Chubbuck limestone and dolomite deposits are in two extensive holdings described…for convenience under two titles, Chubbuck Lime Company deposits and Chubbuck reserve deposits. The former have been in production for many years. The Chubbuck reserve deposits have been the subject of both geological and engineering investigations that have yielded much interesting information, but so far have been worked only for test purposes.
"Chubbuck reserve limestone and dolomite deposits are in N ½ sec. 20, NW ¼ sec. 21, SE ¼ and E ½ SW ¼ sec. 17, T. 6 N., R. 14 E., S.B., in the Marble Mountains 7 ½ miles west of north of Cadiz, a station on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The deposits are controlled by Chubbuck Lime Company, Charles I. Chubbuck, president and general manager and Mrs. A. S. Chubbuck, secretary, with the main office at 5000 Worth Street, Los Angeles, The Kaiser Company, Incorporated, did some work on the property in 1943 and 1944, but it is idle at present.
"C. W. Clark (21)* has mentioned Carboniferous limestone of an estimated thickness of 635 feet as occurring in the Bristol Mountains '5 miles due north of Cadiz.' This note probably refers to the above deposit but the name Bristol Mountains is in error, as that name is usually applied to a range farther west, lying north of Amboy. He made no reference to the dolomite.
(* Clifton W. Clark, "Lower and Middle Cambrian formations of the Mohave Desert," Univ. California, Dept. Geol. Sci. Bull., vol. 13, pp. 1-7, 1921)
"In a private report made in 1943, Charles Severy has described the deposits in detail. The following quotation is from his report:
"'Structurally the area is composed of a metamorphosed sedimentary section which has been folded into an overturned anticline and this in turn thrust over a meta-diorite by a reverse fault which dips approximately 50 to the north. this fault can be traced for several miles along the front of the mountains. To the west is another fault which strikes approximately N. 40 E. and separates the sedimentaries and the meta-diorite from an acid igneous rock, probably a granite. This fault dips from the vertical to 65 to the east, and to the north near the top of the limestone it assumes a 25 dip to the east. Minor zones of movement are present in the limestones.
"'There are three metamorphosed sedimentary formations in the area: a white limestone which constitutes the main mass of the deposit, a blue limestone which occurs in two lenticular beds separated by a bed of dolomite and the main dolomite formation.
"'The white limestone forms a ridge some 700 feet high with precipitous slopes commonly in excess of 60 . The bedding of the limestone is massive and usually obscure, but the ridge is apparently part of the leading edge of an overturned anticline whose axial plane is inclined to the north approximately N. 65 E. and the dip is from vertical to 85 N., while higher on the same portion of the ridge the strike is similar, but the dip has changed to approximately 45 southerly. There are numerous zones of movement in the limestone, but as the bedding is obscure, an accurate measurement of the displacement along these faults cannot be made, however, it is believed that the displacement in all cases is small.
"'The material is a finely crystalline rock that has local variations from the cryptocrystalline texture to a medium crystalline one. The individual grains show well developed cleavage faces and are interlocked. The color of the limestone varies from a pure milk white to a dark brown and includes clear, translucent varieties as well as mottled red, yellow and brown types. On weathered surfaces the limestone is commonly a medium grey or buff color, and occasionally has a sugary, friable texture. Often minute subhedral to euhedral crystals of magnetite are present in the limestone.
"'In some beds of the white limestone free silica is found in the form of small nodules and lenses, usually around two to three inches in size, but occasionally extending up to three feet or so in length and one foot in thickness. These lenses and nodules of silica weather a dark brown and are secondary in origin.
"'Small basic dikes having approximately the composition of a hornblende andesite occur through both the limestone and the dolomite. They are dark green to black in color, aphanitic in texture, and can be traced on the surface for distances ranging up to 75 feet. Their width is from 18 inches to three feet, and in general they appear to be regular in both strike and dip. They are not common enough as seen on the surface, to constitute a serious waste ratio in the limestone as they are scarce and can easily be sorted.
"'The blue limestones are found in two beds paralleling the face of the white limestone, apparently conformable with it, and separated from each other by an intermediate bed of dolomite. Both beds vary in width along the strike, pinching and swelling and occasionally disappearing entirely, which lends a lenticular aspect to the beds. The southerly blue limestone bed is the thicker and more persistent of the two beds, being from 10 to 50 feet wide, while the northern bed is seldom more than 15 feet in thickness and, toward the west, is commonly discontinuous while the southern bed merely thins rapidly. Both beds are composed of a fine crystalline rock having a blue-grey color probably due to minute amounts of carbonaceous material now metamorphosed to graphite. The chemical composition is similar to that of the white limestone (see analyses). A few basic dikes are present and some free silica is visible as small lenses.
"'The intermediate dolomite beds lies between the two blue limestone beds and has a varying thickness form approximately 30 feet to 110 feet, pinching and swelling to some extent, but in general thickening steadily toward the west until it is separated from the main dolomite only by a narrow five to ten foot thickness of blue limestone and from the white limestone by occasional narrow lenses of the northern blue limestone.
"'This dolomite is finely crystalline and for the most part is a milky white in color on a fresh surface, weathering to a characteristic reddish brown which makes the dolomite in this area readily distinguishable in the field from the adjacent formations.
"'On the west, the contact between the middle dolomite and the limestone would appear to be a gradational one as the rock has the analysis of a magnesium limestone (10% MgO).
"'The main dolomite formation, which lies to the south of the southern blue limestone, occupies three ridges forming salients from the main mass of the mountains. There is no visible bedding in the dolomite, but it is assumed to be conformable with the blue limestones as there are no indications to the contrary where the contact is exposed.
"'The dolomite varies from a cryptocrystalline, dense type in which no individual grains are megascopically visible to a finely crystalline variety. Both are white in color with occasional brownish mottling. A few euhedral crystals of hematite, pseudomorphs after magnetite, are found. The bed becomes narrower near the center of the deposit due to the folding of the strata combined with the position of the underlying fault.
"'The dolomite rests on what has been termed in the field as a meta-diorite, and is separated from it by a reverse or thrust fault dipping approximately 50 toward the north. Along the contact there has been hydrothermal action as shown by the presence of abundant epidote and some garnet. Locally along the contact the diorite contains a large percentage of biotite, lending a schistose structure to the rock. There are acidic phases in the diorite having the composition of a granite and occasionally of an alaskite, but they are comparatively minor.
"'On the west side of the meta-sediments are terminated by fault which brings an acid intrusive having the composition of a granite or a quartz monzonite against them. Along this contact there are local areas of abundant epidote and small deposits of iron, replacements of the limestone, while some 1500 feet further west and to the south lies the Iron Hat ore deposit.
Chemical Composition
Following are the average analyses of the various types of limestones and dolomites found on the deposit:
"'The decrepitation tests show a wide variation, from 2 to 68.8. It is possible that this high decrepitation index was due to the weathered condition of the sample. An estimated average decrepitation for the limestone is between 15 and 20. The individual analyses will be found at the end of the report.'
"The Kaiser Company, Inc. prospected both the dolomite and limestone. A quarry bench was opened in the dolomite on the toe of the east ridge and dolomite was hauled in 5-ton trucks a distance of 7 miles to a railroad spur a quarter of a mile west of Cadiz for shipment to the company's steel plant at Fontana. The average analysis of dolomite resulting from averaging the figures quoted for a number of carloads, indicated 1.65 percent SiO2, 30.9 percent CaO and 19.8 percent MgO.
"The limestone prospecting consisted of an adit in white limestone, but the extent of work done was so small in comparison with the extent of deposit that no conclusion could be drawn from it, as it was started in a bed which may be comparatively narrow stratum of Cambrian limestone or dolomite and not the main limestone member.
"The property is 1 ½ miles long from east to west and 1 mile from north to south, and the tonnages of both limestone and dolomite in it are very large. The mining of the white limestone would be limited to certain methods because of the steep slope. R. E. Tally Jr., after an inspection, suggested the use of tunnel shots using 3- by 5-foot tunnels to be driven 70 feet into the face, then forked 150 feet each, east and west, loaded with explosive, back-filled, and fired. He estimated that 3 such shots, 167 feet apart on the steep limestone face, would break 1,175,000 tons.
"Severy estimated that the block of limestone under investigation, which is only a part of the Chubbuck holdings would yield 13,100,000 tons of white limestone and 34,800,000 tons of dolomite, not counting the two beds of blue limestone and the 'intermediate dolomite' bed, as these would be wasted in the mining method proposed. As the Chubbuck property extends 4000 feet east and 800 feet or more north of the area covered by Severy's estimates, and is occupied largely by the white limestone, the estimate of 100,000,000 tons of limestone quoted by Tucker and Sampson (43)* need not be considered excessive.
(* W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, "Mineral resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"Water is obtainable in small quantity from wells at the old and new Chambless Service Stations, 2.4 miles and 3.2 miles distant respectively, and might be had in larger amount from well at Cadiz; or possibly other wells might be drilled. No electric power is available."
"Vaughan marble quarries (Tucker W. B. 43, p. 528)* comprise two deposits of marble known as Lower Quarry Marble Tract and the Upper Quarry Marble Tract situated on the southwest slope of the Marble Mountains. The Lower Quarry Tract is in the NE ¼ sec. 11, T. 5 N., R. 14 E., and the SE ¼ sec. 2, T. 5 N., R. 14 E., S.B., and is 3 ½ miles southeast of Upper Quarry marble deposit and 2 miles north of Cadiz, a station on the Santa Fe Railroad; elevation 1500 feet. Upper Quarry Tract is situated on the west slope of Marble Mountains, in the NE ¼ sec. 28, NW ¼ sec. 27 and the SW ¼ sec. 22, all of sec. 26, T. 6 N., R. 14 E., S.B., 5 miles north of Cadiz; elevation is 1500 feet. Total holdings comprise 1440 acres, held by placer locations. Owner is Vaughan Marble Company, Arthur C. Vaughan, president, 437 South Hill Street, Los Angeles.
(*W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, "Mineral resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"The Upper and Lower Quarry tracts are made up of sedimentary rocks of Cambrian age, consisting of quartzites, shales, and marbleized limestone. The beds strike N. 10 W., dip 35 E. Near the southern end of the Marble Mountains is a fault which strikes eastward; south of this fault the beds strike N. 70 W., dip 55 N. The beds of marble have an average thickness of 20 feet. On the Lower Quarry Tract, two quarries have been opened, from which blocks of marble weighing 15 to 20 tons were quarried. The marble is Calevanto, a highly colored, variegated marble. On the Upper Quarry Tract, the marble is fine grained and beds are 10 feet thick and of uniform quality. The marble beds occur at an elevation of 650 feet above the floor of the valley and extend to the top of Marble Mountain. The marble belt is about 2 miles in length by 1 mile in width.
"Three quarries have been opened on the west slope of Marble Mountain and a small amount of marble extracted. The marble exposed in these quarries is black and gold and black and silver, overlain by a blue-black monumental marble reported to be equal to Perwick marble of Wales; also some Egyptian pebble marble has been exposed. From a report made by G. M. Butler of the Arizona School of Mines, the following analyses of marble and estimates were obtained:
Lower Quarry Tract – old quarry
Calcium oxide (CaO), 48.15 percent
Magnesium oxide (MgO), 2.48 percent
Silica (SiO2), 2.64 percent
Iron (Fe2O3), 1.74 percent
Aluminum (Al2O3), 1.66 percent
Calcium Carbonate, 85.90 percent
Magnesium carbonate, 5.18 percent."Butler estimated 2,000,000 cubic feet of commercial marble could be quarried.
Upper Quarry Tract
Calcium oxide (CaO), 55.55 percent
Magnesium oxide (MgO), 3.04 percent
Silica (SiO2), 1.98 percent
Iron (Fe2O3), 0.77 percent
Aluminum (Al2O3), 0.54 percent
Calcium Carbonate, 90.18 percent
Magnesium carbonate, 6.35 percent.
| Plate 32-B. Lower Quarry - Vaughan Marble Company, Cadiz, San Bernardino County. |  |
| Plate 33. Marble Mountain - Site of upper quarry of Vaughan Marble Company near Cadiz, San Bernardino County.} |  |
"It is estimated that there are 5,000,000 cubic feet of commercial marble available here."
"Cadiz. On the north side of the Santa Fe Railway, extending from near Cadiz to Bengal, is a range of limestone hills, in which large deposits of marble are said to occur. Specimens said to have come from near Cadiz show a handsome variegated, dark-colored, nearly black marble, not often found on the American market. Lighter-colored marbles are said to occur in the same region. A brief description of this marble area is given in the Mining Review, Los Angeles, July, 1904."
"…A large deposit of limestone said to be very pure is being quarried near Cajon, on the Santa Fe railroad, by the Big Pines Lime and Transportation Company, with offices at 1129 Merchants National Bank Bldg., Los Angeles. This company has recently contracted for a large production. Ten men are employed. W. J. Hunter is engineer in charge of the property."
"M. L. Cook, San Bernardino, in Secs. 15, 16, 21, and 22, T. 2 N., R. 5 W., S. B. M., on the north side of Cajon Cañon, about 2 miles from the Santa Fe Railroad. A body of limestone similar to that above mentioned (in the Cable Cañon entry owned by M. L. Cook and J. B. Devore). J. Hansome formerly burned lime on this ground."
"Cajon limestone deposit is on 420 acres in sec. 32, T. 3 N., R. 6 W., S.B., in Lone Pine Canyon 4 miles west of Cajon Station on Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad by road. Cajon Lime Products started three quarries in the limestone about 1924 and erected a lime kiln of 125 tons daily capacity in sec. 27. Work was carried on until 1927, after which there is no record of production. In January 1945, Douglas Lime Products Company, L. C. Douglas, president and manager, leased the limestone deposits and lime plant. Mrs. Lorin Foreman, Los Angeles, is the owner. The lessee did considerable work during 1945 and planned to produce lime and ground limestone of 40-, 80-, and 200-mesh for poultry and other industrial uses."
"Cima limestone deposit is in secs. 12, 13, and 24, T. 15 N., R. 13 E., and sec. 7, T. 15 N., R. 14 E., 10 to 12 miles by road nearly north from Cima on the Union Pacific Railroad. Owners are James Vernon and W. R. Fory, Arlington; C. B. Worcester, Riverside; and R. F. Slaughter, San Clemente. The total area is 1380 acres in 10 placer claims at elevations ranging from 4900 to 5900 feet on a western spur at the Ivanpah Mountains. It is mapped as undifferentiated Carboniferous.
"The limestone makes up a large part of the mountain, which is about 2 miles long and has a maximum width of about 1 mile. The strata of limestone range in thickness up to 300 feet. The texture varies from fine grained and compact to coarse crystalline and the color from dark slate to white. A random sample said to have been taken 'from entire deposit' and analyzed by Smith Emery & Co. July 21, 1943 gave the following (Laboratory No. 237,245):
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), 97.20 percent
Magnesium oxide (MgO), 0.45 percent
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), 97.20 percent*(* Calcium carbonate is repeated above as it is in the book.)
"The writer has not visited the property, but it has been mentioned by W. B. Tucker and R. J. Sampson (43, p. 521).* The owners claim that estimates indicate more than 220,000,000 tons of limestone above the base or surrounding desert level. There has been no reported production, the only work being prospecting pits.
(*W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, "Mineral resources of San Bernardino County," California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 427-549, 1943)
"Grades on the road from the deposit to the railroad are almost entirely in favor of loaded traffic, Cima being at 4204 feet elevation, or 700 to 800 feet below the base of the deposit. There is ample space available for any plant desired, and as the country is almost uninhabited desert, no trouble would arise from dust or fumes. It should be possible to run a railroad spur track to the deposit at moderate cost. (Cima is 250 miles by rail from Los Angeles.)
"Mescal Springs 6 miles north, and the Roseberry Spring and Mexican Well 7 miles north of the deposit, as well as others toward Cima, might supply sufficient water for domestic use if a supply could not be developed near the property. The railroad also has a well at Chase, 4 miles south of Cima."
| Plate 31. Cima Limestone Deposit, San Bernardino County. Photo by courtesy of James Vernon. |  |
"Magnesium Giant mine contains 2 claims (about 40 acres) in sec. 33, T. 16 N., R. 11 E., S.B., in Halloran Springs mining district about 26 miles northwest of Cima on the Union Pacific Railroad. The owner is A. J. Rygh, 1409 Calumet Avenue, Los Angeles 26, California.
"The deposit is in a hill rising 150 feet at an elevation of about 4400 feet. It is completely exposed and without overburden, so could be worked by open pits. There is a dirt road 3 miles long connecting with the paved highway, and electric power is 3 miles distant. No analysis of the material is available. The owner claims a large tonnage of clean, high-grade crystalline dolomite."
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