Blue goo is a sticky, plasticky, blueish-grey, clay-textured soil derived from a highly weathered serpentinitemélange.[1][2] The name derives from the soil's color; a result of undergoing anaerobic conditions and becoming gleyed.[3] A greyer variation is called "grey goo".[2] Blue goo is primarily found along the Northern California coast.[2]
Clay soils like blue goo have the highest water-holding capacity when compared with other soils, giving them a low draining capacity.[3] This kind of habitat is unsuitable for most plants,[3] but the Northern California coastline maintains high levels of vegetation year round.
Due to blue goo's clayey texture, it slips when overly saturated.[6] This slippage is increased in heavy rainfall areas and in shallow soils; deep soils have more total pore space and are not as prone to slippage.[3] These features contribute to the landslide-ridden environments found along the Northern Californian coast.[5][6]
Locations
The Franciscan Complex, from which blue goo is derived, extends from Central California up the coast through parts of Southern Oregon.[1] But blue goo has only been found in two Northern Californian regions located in Humboldt County: the Trinidad region and the Orick region. Blue goo is thought to also be found in the Eel River region and along the Southern Oregon coastline.
^ abTula, Alex (1972). "Franciscan Geology at Patrick's Point, California". Senior Thesis. Department of Geology. Humboldt State University.
^ abcGustason, Edmund R. (1979). "Earthflow Movement Characteristics at Truttman Sink: A Franciscan Complex Mélange Coastal Headland". Senior Thesis. Department of Geology. Humboldt State University.