DIBBLEE, Thomas Wilson Jr.

Thomas W. Dibblee Jr. (1911-2004)
Mapping Anacapa Island, 1998

Tom Dibblee with NIta Vail (left) and Bill Dewey (right)
arriving on Santa Barbara Island, 1998

DIBBLEE, Thomas Wilson Jr. (1911-2004), Santa Barbara geologist, born October 11, 1911, who was graduated from Stanford University in 1936 and immediately hired as a field geologist first by Union Oil Company, and then by Richfield Oil Company. Dibblee mapped geology on the northern Channel Islands as early as 1938 when he and Rodman Cross mapped Santa Rosa Island for Richfield. In 1998, at age 87, Dibblee mapped the geology of Santa Barbara Island. “The Channel Islands were elevated mainly by arching along a zone of east-trending faults. The Santa Barbara Channel is a submerged crustal downward between the islands and the Santa Ynez mountains. On the Channel Islands, dunes are at the west end and south sides of Santa Cruz; the east end, north and southwest sides of Santa Rosa, and scattered over San Miguel.” (Smith p.7-8). In 1983 he was the recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Action Award, presented by then president, Ronald Reagan.

Tom often traveled in his old pick-up truck, sleeping across the front seat, with the door open and a board extended out, to accommodate his long legs and feet. A cabbage in a wicker fish basket served for days as his food. He never ate both halves of a sandwich, but rather saved half for the next day. His geology-minded friend, Helmut Ehernspeck (1943-2001) often accompanied Dibblee in the field.

Thomas Wilson Dibblee, Jr. is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Santa Barbara. His house and estate were bequeathed to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History through the Dibblee Geological Foundation.

• 1950. Dibblee, T. W. Geology of southern Santa Barbara County, California California Division of Mines Bulletin 150, 1950

• 1966. Dibblee, T. W. Geology of the central Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara County, California California Division of Mines Bulletin 186, 1966

• 1987. Barth, Steve. Tom Dibblee: Living Legend Coastlines 18(1):8-10, Summer 1987.

[original in SCIF archives]

• 1997. Barth, Steve Rock solid, legendary geologist Tom Dibblee Santa Barbara Magazine (13) Spring 1997

• 1998. Tom Dibblee Issue. La Reata, Number 14, Winter, 1998

• 1998. Dibblee, T. W., John J. Woolley and Helmut E. Ehrenspeck

Geologic Map of Santa Rosa Island, Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Cruz Island Foundation Occasional Map #2, 1998

• 2001. Dibblee, T. W. and Helmut E. Ehrenspeck

Geologic Map of San Miguel Island, Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Cruz Island Foundation Occasional Map #3, 2001

• 2001. Dibblee, T. W. and Helmut E. Ehrenspeck

Geologic Map of Anacapa & Santa Barbara Islands, Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Cruz Island Foundation Occasional Map #4, 2001

• 2001. Dibblee, T. W. and John A. Minch

Geologic Map of Western Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Cruz Island Foundation Occasional Map #5 Part A, 2001

• 2001. Dibblee, T. W. and John A. Minch

Geologic Map of Eastern Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Cruz Island Foundation Occasional Map #5 Part B, 2001