A Geoarchaeological Overview and Site Sensitivity Assessment for Travis Air Force Base, Solano County, California

Summary

Only one prehistoric archaeological site has been identified within Travis Air Force Base (TAFB), and a recent study has questioned whether the materials recovered there are, in fact, prehistoric artifacts rather than quarry materials brought to the base more recently (Scher 2017). In an effort to provide an overview for use in ongoing Native American consultation, Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., under contract to TAFB, developed site sensitivity models for both surface and subsurface archaeological deposits on the base and outlying facilities managed by the base. The surface site sensitivity model uses a number of factors that have been found to correlate to the site distributions in Solano County and, more broadly, in central California. These include proximity to freshwater (and, in the case of TAFB, to Suisun Marsh), slope, and landform age. The modeling results indicate that surface site potential is “Highest” in about 8.8% (~467 acres) and “High” in about 48% (~2,530

acres) of the study area. In the remaining area, a little more than one-quarter (28.2%) has a “Moderate” potential to contain sites, and the remaining 15% (~811 acres) has a “Low” or “Lowest” potential. Two main areas of highest site potential occur within the main base area, one located along the former channel of Union Creek near the central part of the main runway, and the other located along the middle tributary of Union Creek, which is roughly bordered by Boyles Street to the east, Dixon Avenue to the west, Hanger Avenue to the north, and V Street to the south. Although buildings, roads, parking lots, and other structures now cover large portions of these areas, and it is likely that surface sites that may have been present prior to base development were destroyed during initial construction of the base, site remnants and intact deposits may be present in these areas. The buried site sensitivity model relies on proximity to water and the age of landforms, under the assumption that buried sites are likely to be located beneath younger landforms. The potential for buried sites is estimated to be “Low” to “Lowest” throughout the vast majority (~5,300 acres, or 99.7%) of the study area. The low potential primarily reflects the age of the surface landforms, which are mostly Pleistocene in age or older and therefore were deposited prior to human occupation of the region. In turn, fewer than 16 acres (0.3%) of the study area are estimated to have a “Moderate” or “High” buried site potential, and no “Highest”-potential zones were identified by the model. Thus, the potential for buried prehistoric sites appears to be restricted to very small portions of TAFB and the associated facilities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Travis Air Force Base Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management Archive - Documents, Images, and other Data

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Travis Air Force Base

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