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City of Pleasanton—Hidden Canyon Residences and Preserve <br />Geology, Soils, and Seismicity Draft EIR <br /> <br /> <br />3.6-16 FirstCarbon Solutions <br /> https://adecinnovations.sharepoint.com/sites/PublicationsSite/Shared Documents/Publications/Client (PN-JN)/2148/21480016/EIR/3 - Draft EIR/21480016 Sec03-06 Geology.docx <br />most of the last century it was regarded as a formation. Most recently it has been treated as a group <br />containing the Claremont Shale and Sobrante Sandstone which were classified as formations. <br />For this analysis, the Monterey Formation will be considered a formation which contains the <br />Claremont Shale and Sobrante Sandstone members. While the project site is not located within an <br />area of deposition except for the Quaternary alluvium along Devany Creek, the region was <br />prehistorically uplifted by tectonic processes from the Pacific Ocean and further deformed by the <br />North American and Pacific Plate boundary. As such, invertebrate fossils such as clams, mollusks, and <br />shells may be present in the Monterey Formation (or Group) and its associated members. <br />The UCMP provides the Locality Search, an online database that displays a list of vertebrates, <br />invertebrates, microfossils, and plant localities associated with its institution. The data distributes <br />each locality’s ID and name along with the County of discovery, the geologic period and epoch, <br />storage age, and sometimes the related rock formation and taxonomy units and specimen associated <br />with the fossil locality. Although the UCMP Locality Database Search does not provide the absolute <br />location of localities within a project area, the associated names may indicate approximate locations. <br />According to the preliminary analysis using the UCMP Locality Search, at least five vertebrate fossils <br />associated with the Miocene Claremont Member (or Formation) and Monterey Formation (or <br />Group) (Tm) have been discovered in Alameda County with three found during the excavation of the <br />fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel in Oakland. These three have a storage age of Clarendonian <br />within the North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMA). Numerous Monterey Formation (or Group) <br />(Tm) localities within the County have produced invertebrate fossils. <br />A records search request was sent to the UCMP on March 6, 2025, to obtain complete information <br />on the fossil localities listed within its repository that are associated with the rock units and <br />geography of the project area to determine the potential of ground-disturbing activities during <br />construction of the proposed project to disturb and uncover significant paleontological resources. <br />The UCMP completed its records search on March 25, 2025, and confirmed the project site to be <br />underlain by Miocene rock units which classified the Monterey Formation as the Monterey Group. <br />The records search indicated no fossil localities to be uncovered on the direct project site within the <br />Monterey Formation (or Group). However, the UCMP identified three vertebrate localities, and 13 <br />invertebrate localities uncovered from Miocene rock units northwest of the project site along I-580. <br />Of these localities, two vertebrate localities were uncovered approximately 3.5 miles west to <br />northwest from the project site within the Sobrante Sandstone member of the Monterey Formation <br />and yielded five specimens with taxon consisting of Mammalia, Chondrichthyes, and Allodesmus. <br />The invertebrate localities were uncovered from the Claremont Shale and Sobrante Sandstone <br />members, the Monterey Formation (or Group), and the San Pablo Formation and consisted of <br />several mollusks including those from the Class Bivalve, Gastropod, and Scaphopod. Although most <br />of the surficial conditions on the project site are overlaid by rock units with low paleontological <br />potential consisting of colluvium and residual soils due to their recent deposition and relatively <br />young age, excavations exceeding the depths of the low potential rock units may disturb the <br />Monterey Formation (or Group) and the Claremont Shale member (or Formation). These rock units <br />consist of marine sedimentary rock units matching the SVP Standard Procedures definition as having <br />high paleontological potential, and have previously contained fossil localities yielding vertebrates