Overview of Vasquez Canyon. These hills are composed of the Mint Canyon Formation. Saugus is visible as a green area in the middle right background.
General Facts
Most of Saugus rest upon the 1.8 million year old Plio-Pliestocene Saugus Formation. The upper reaches of Saugus, in Bouquet Canyon, rest on 23 to 26 million year old Miocene Mint Canyon Formation. This boundary line between the Saugus and Mint Canyon formations is near the city limits in Bouquet Canyon and near Dry Canyon Reservoir in Seco Canyon. The Saugus Formation was deposited during a time of great uplift in the region. Later uplift after the deposition of the Saugus beds caused the strata to be tilted. The canyon floors are composed of Recent alluvium from streams. Some areas of Saugus are quite unstable. Much of the Plum Canyon area is within a major landslide complex that still is apparent today. Vasquez Canyon, northeast of Saugus, is another area of high instability. It was known as the Land of Moving Earth by the local Native Americans. The photos below depict some of the landslides in the canyon. Adjacent to the canyon is the Cruzan Mesa, known in earlier years as Mystery Mesa and Puckett Mesa. This mesa is an erosional remnant of the ancient Santa Clarita Valley. Uplift and erosion have left only a few traces of the old valley. Cruzan Mesa is one of them.
Overview of Vasquez Canyon. These hills are composed of the Mint Canyon
Formation. Saugus is visible as a green area in the middle right
background.
View of one of the slides in the canyon. The slide is the horseshoe
shaped area in the middle of the photo. The cliffs in the background mark the edge of the
Cruzan Mesa.
Rivers and Drainage
Both Bouquet Creek and San Francisquito Creek are major tributaries to the Santa Clara River. They both are also some of the few perennial creeks in the area. From the city limits to Bouquet Reservoir, Bouquet Creek is uncontrolled. It has no levees nor any concrete bottoms which can create a problem during flood season. These types of streams should not be fully concrete lined but development surrounding the floodplain should be built away from the flood prone areas.
Faults and Folds
Only a few major folds exist in this area. None are very large. Faults are also not common with one exception. The San Gabriel Fault runs very close to here. Its closest approach to Saugus is near Bouquet Junction.
Return to Santa Clarita Geology Page
Last Updated : January 17, 2009