1930 Map of Bear Mountain

About this map

The topography of Kern County in the early 1930s is captured in this advance sheet, focusing on the steep elevations and drainage patterns along the edge of the southern San Joaquin Valley. This specific survey was conducted under State Engineer Edward Hyatt and Governor James Rolph, Jr., emphasizing the collaboration between state and federal agencies to chart the California interior. The map focuses heavily on the prominent Bear Mountain and the adjacent Tejon region, where tightly packed contour intervals illustrate the dramatic rise of the landscape. A single notable thoroughfare, identified simply as the Boulevard, skirts the base of these heights, while drainage features like Sycamore Canyon cut into the slopes. This edition represents a transitional mapping phase, produced before later surveys were consolidated into larger quadrangles.