La Jolla Group
The La Jolla Group is a group of geologic formations in coastal southwestern San Diego County, Southern California. Its locations include the coastal La Jolla San Diego region.
The formation preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period.
The Cretaceous aged formations of the La Jolla Group include the Point Loma Formation overlain by the Cabrillo Formation. Some incomplete dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the Point Loma Formation.
Most of the La Jolla Group Stratigraphy was deposited during the Eocene when sea level was higher than its present-day elevation. Eocene aged formations of the La Jolla Group include the Del Mar Formation, Torrey Sandstone, Ardath Shale, and Scripps Sandstone. There are only abundant fossils found in some sections of the Del Mar Formation, mostly bivalve shells.
An angular unconformity separates the Eocene from the top section of the La Jolla Group.
The Pliocene Aged San Diego Formation is composed of interbedded silt and sand. Some fossil bivalve shell layers can be found in the San Diego Formation which were deposited from a transport.
The upper section of the La Jolla Group consists of Pleistocene aged marine terraces deposited during times of high sea level in between ice ages. The Linda Vista Formation, for example, is a reddish colored sandy marine terrace which is exposed throughout much of the Clairemont Area region of San Diego, and can be seen from Interstate 5 overlying the yellowish colored Torrey Sandstone in Del Mar Heights.
