1976 Map of Canoga Park

About this map

Northridge and Canoga Park sit at the heart of the San Fernando Valley during the mid-1970s, a period of dense suburban consolidation within the city limits of Los Angeles. This orthophotoquad, derived from aerial photography taken in June 1976, provides a literal overhead perspective of the residential grids, major arterial roads, and the expanding reach of neighborhoods like Woodland Hills and Encino. The imagery reveals a sharp contrast between the highly organized urban development in the valley floor and the dramatic, undeveloped topographic relief of the hills to the south. Researchers can observe the mid-century layout of commercial corridors and the maturation of these specific Valley communities just before the major population shifts of the following decades. The map was produced by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Forest Service, capturing the landscape exactly as it appeared on the nation's bicentennial.