[3] The Coldwater and Sacate Formations are sometimes considered as a single unit, particularly underneath the Santa Barbara Channel where they appear in drill cores.

The likely source rocks for any petroleum accumulation in the Coldwater-Sacate are the lower-lying organic-rich shale units, such as the Cozy Dell and the Juncal-Anita Formations.

[9] Since this deep-lying play is incompletely explored, the estimates for hydrocarbon resources are speculative, with the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement giving a range of 117 to 127 million barrels of oil recoverable using current technology for the entire Santa Barbara-Ventura Basin Province.

[11] Additionally, studies of the correlation of the underlying Cozy Dell and Matilija Sandstone with similar units in the California Central Valley, along with paleomagnetic data, show that the tectonic block on which the Coldwater and its surrounding formations were deposited – including the western part of the Transverse Ranges[12] – has rotated clockwise almost 90 degrees since the time of deposition, also moving north-northwest from its original location.

[3]: 102 Fossils of numerous mollusks, including many species of the genus Turritella can be found in the Coldwater, particularly near the top of the formation where the water at time of deposition was shallowest.

Outcrops along Old San Marcos Pass Road above Goleta and near the contact with the Sespe Formation are rich locations for finding remnants of these sea-snails.