1912 Map of Buena Vista Lake

About this map

Buena Vista Lake and the Kern Lake Bed dominate the southern San Joaquin Valley in this early 20th-century landscape, a region defined by an intricate network of irrigation and transport. The city of Bakersfield serves as the eastern anchor, where the Kern River fans out into numerous man-made channels like the Lerdo Canal and Beardsley Canal. This period marks the height of the oil boom and agricultural expansion, evidenced by the clustered settlements of Monarch and Maricopa in the Sunset Valley, and the rural schools like Rio Bravo School and Fruitvale School dotting the plains.