Santa Barbara Channel Oil: Oil seeps on ocean floor

Structural Evolution: During the last few million years, the sedimentary layers under the Santa Barbara Channel have been shortened, folded, and faulted.

Migration of oil into anticlines: Tar, oil, and gas rise through the pores in the rocks and collect in "traps" under the anticlinal folds in the clay layers. Oil wells extract the oil from these traps.

Natural Oil seeps: Where the layers have been broken by faulting or breached by erosion, hydrocarbons escape to the surface, releasing the gases and forming oil and tar seeps.

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