Hydrologic and geochemical properties of the San Andreas fault at the Stone Canyon well

The Stone Canyon well penetrates 600 m of highly fractured and severely altered quartz diorite intimately associated with the creeping segment of the San Andreas fault of central California. Geophysical logs reveal a complex hydrology dominated by major fractures. Fluid pressure in some fractures is sufficient to prevent invasion of the formation by heavy drilling mud, implying pore pressures at least 10% higher than hydrostatic ones. At least three chemically distinct waters are encountered, including a chloride brine clearly segregated from the shallow, potable groundwater. Chemical alteration of the quartz diorite persists throughout the well, far below the depth where the water-rock reactions responsible for the ubiquitous chlorite and mixed-layer clays can be considered weathering. Whole-rock ¹⁸O analyses indicate significant interaction of the rocks with a low ¹⁸O fluid within some of the fractured and altered zones, whereas a deeper sample shows¹⁸O enrichment. High pore pressures encountered in Stone Canyon may be due to tectonic compression. Measurements of temporal variations in the pore pressure at the well may provide a means of predicting earthquakes along this segment of the San Andreas fault.