1954 Map of Antelope Plain

About this map

The Lost Hills rise sharply from the floor of the Antelope Plain on this mid-century survey, defined by the intense industrial footprint of California's energy history. The landscape is a dense network of petroleum infrastructure, dominated by clusters of Oil Wells and supporting features like an Oil Sump and Oil Tanks. The mapping reveals the transition of this arid region into a managed industrial zone, where the arrival of the California Aqueduct in 1973 revisions cuts through the terrain alongside older agricultural and livestock markers like a Windmill and various Water Tanks. This 1954 data, later updated with aerial photography, documents the expansion of the oil fields into the hills while preserving the layout of an extensive Ditch system and survey lines that shaped Kern County's development during the post-war era.