NOTES: CA ENERGY & resources (CA4-CA5, 26.1-26.2)

California’s beginnings: CA’s socioeconomic history is closely tied with it’s geological history CA is #1 in underground resources that contribute to the US economy For those resources to “come out” and be harvested, they first have to be exposed somehow . .

California “Exposed” : Glaciers exposed many layers of rocks and minerals that would have normally gone undiscovered by carving Fluid erosion (wind and water) transported many weathered rocks and minerals to lower elevations Faulting and folding by plate tectonics is a force capable of turning over great chunks of rock and soil quickly Mining by humans manually exposed underground rocks and minerals.

What drew miners to california : PLACER DEPOSITS: Eroded gold flakes and nuggets that were sorted by size and brought down by runoff Gold pieces were easily found in a delta area, since the waterways formed a triangular “alluvial fan” and evenly spread out sediments.

. . . The “mother lode” LODE DEPOSITS were big Quartz veins filled with Gold inside the earth These were discovered by miners who were mining manually, using underground tunneling or hydraulic mining techniques.

Which type of deposit was depleted first? Why?

Modern CA underground resources are: Gravel and stone (from rock quarries) = Sierras and Foothills Boron (from sedimentary rock mixed with volcanic ash) = Central Valley and Foothills Portland Cement = (processed from sedimentary limestone) = Central Valley and Foothills

California ALSO HAS IT’s OWN ENERGY ResourceS Oil has to come from oceanic sediments being compacted over time Therefore, it is normally found near old or extinct Plate boundaries It is considered a “fossil fuel” CA is the 4th largest oil Producer in the US!

Water , Crude Oil, and Natural Gas are all found together underground in pockets where rock layers have bent upwards (anticline) into a pocket, The gas is on top, the oil in the middle, and water on the bottom because of density.

A section of layers that has been separated from it’s original location by faulting is called a “trap”. Where it leaks onto the surface by itself is called a “seep” Ca uses 58% of it’s OWN OIL, but imports 84% of it’s gas

SHALE… FOR FOSSIL FUEL REPLACEMENT? There are great deposits of the sedimentary rock, Shale, in Monterey and other coastal areas. Shale can absorbs lots of Oil (Hydrocarbons) because it resembles pressed powder. People knew about Shale even in the 1600’s, for tanning Leather and dying Fabrics.

CONTROVERSY: We could potentially get about 2.6 billion barrels of oil from oil shale! “FRACKING” is hydraulic fracturing of shale, or using high pressure water, sand, and chemicals to crack/break into oil shale to get the fuel out. Communities in these areas are concerned about the environmental impact of this process.

CA is sitting on a plate boundary, and ALSO has access to geothermal energy This energy is generated by underground water heated by the mantle This type of energy accounts for about 4-5% of CA total energy supply The plants are located mainly in the North Bay Area along the San Andreas Fault..

For each of the following RESOURCES, state “renewable” or “non”… WHY? Fossil Fuels like oil Boron Portland Cement Geothermal energy Gold Gravel