1958 Map of Chico

About this map

Beale Air Force Base and the emerging Lake Oroville reservoir anchor this transition from the Sacramento Valley to the high Sierra Nevada. By the late 1950s and into the 1970 revision, the landscape reflects a complex network of water management and resource extraction, illustrated by Prosser Creek Reservoir and the historic Malakoff Diggins. The valley floors around Chico and Marysville show a dense grid of agricultural settlements served by the Southern Pacific RR and Sacramento Northern RR, while the mountains are defined by the timber and mining history of the Plumas National Forest.